


I Didn't Say It Was the End

by 20SomethingSuperHeroes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Afterlife, Crossover, Death, Hydra (Marvel), Leaky Cauldron, London, Marauders, Maximoff Twin Feels, Multiple Crossovers, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Pre-Civil War (Marvel), SHIELD, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:02:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 57,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5379488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/20SomethingSuperHeroes/pseuds/20SomethingSuperHeroes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the afterlife, Pietro Maximoff watches over his sister but has no way of contacting her.  However, he befriends another lost twin from a different universe.</p><p>Meanwhile, Wanda Maximoff and Vision are sent to London on a mission to destroy a secret Hydra lab.  In the lab, however, they find an owl that was brought back from the dead and subjected to Hydra's tortures.  There is no easy answer, however, to the question of what to do with the owl when she is set free...</p><p>Setting: Two and a half months after the events of Ant-Man</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Brothers

The first thing he felt, after the pain, was the sensation of floating upward. He didn’t know if he had opened his eyes--whatever he used to see with--or if he was just noticing for the first time, but he looked down and saw that he was drifting away from his body.

He saw Captain America picking up his body and carrying it to the air-raft. And Barton was carrying the boy they had saved. And then he rose even higher and the clouds blocked these things from view.

So he was dead. That wasn’t a surprise.

He liked the feeling of blissful detachment from physical reality. He faded away from the sky and into a dark void. The void filled with stars and nebulae and galaxies. He came into a place that was like the center of a star but was filled with slowly moving white mist. It wasn’t so bad here, Pietro thought.

In the distance he thought he could see other people. They were just shadows at first. Maybe his parents were close by. At least by dying he could be with them again, he told himself. They would want to hear about how he and his sister--

His sister.

A rush of color and light sped past him as he returned to earth, whether drawn there by the thought of his sister or moving of his own accord he could not tell.  
The floating portion of Sokovia City was destroyed. It was late afternoon. It had been hours since he had passed. Where was his sister?

He began to run through the streets--it wasn’t any different from how he had moved when he was alive, except he no longer ran into objects or people. He could run through them if he liked.

In life he could feel his sister’s thoughts and feelings. He could tell where she was from miles away. But he felt nothing. There was no connection to her. 

He wanted to call her name, but he couldn’t speak--this spirit form couldn’t breathe, it couldn’t be seen.

He did notice the crowds disembarking from the air-rafts. In a central street not far from the massive crater there were people milling around one of the air-rafts. The Avengers were there, handing out food and other supplies. But where was his sister? She should be with them.

He saw Captain America turning to leave his friends. He pushed his way through the crowd and started to walk down the street. Pietro followed him, unheard and unseen. 

He came to one of the damaged buildings and opened the door. 

Wanda was on the floor, crying. His dead body was on a table and she was collapsed on the ground next to it.

The Captain spoke her name softly. She looked up. He walked over to her. He hugged her and held her. He reassured her. It was everything Pietro would have done in that situation. So he was satisfied.

Wanda cleaned off her face, and she and the Captain let the building.

He walked over to the table to take a look at his dead body. Then he turned and left. He glided right through the door--he was a ghost.

Pietro’s only thought was to somehow contact Wanda. He had to let her know that he was okay, that all was well--that he had wanted to sacrifice himself for Barton. Then, and only then, would he leave her.

 

But his spirit form had no substance to it. He couldn’t knock things over. If he touched anything and his hand would go right through it. The wind could blow Wanda’s hair but Pietro couldn’t pull it.

He tried speaking to her above the noise of the crowd, above the laughter of the Avengers. But she couldn’t hear him. 

Maybe I’ll have to get her alone, he thought. So he backed away and watched from a distance. She spent most of the rest of the day with the Avengers helping them bring relief to their countrymen, taking breaks to have a late lunch and a later dinner. She occasionally ran into their old acquaintances and family friends--but she didn’t tell any of them what had happened.

That night the Avengers went to sleep in a tent in a refugee camp. Wanda took a cot at the end of their tent. She had trouble falling asleep and finally started crying. He tried to lean over her and touch her. It just came naturally. But he couldn’t feel her--or she couldn’t feel him. She wouldn’t stop or respond to anything he did. Finally her powers started building up and he backed away, worried that he had caused her to be angry. But the power surge subsided. 

It was beyond frustrating. He paced up and down the tent, looking at the other sleeping Avengers.

His instinct was to blame Tony Stark. Stark had taken the nightmare Wanda had given him and built Ultron. Ultron had killed him--he had caused all of this destruction and unhappiness that lay just outside the tent. Stark, who had killed their parents and had now killed him. But it would do no good to try and haunt him--he couldn’t comfort Wanda. There wasn’t any point.

The dawn started to break outside. The other Avengers stirred and woke. It was Stark who woke his sister--Pietro wanted nothing more than to take Stark by the arm and break it. But he could only watch.

They went outside to eat breakfast with the other disaster victims. And then they took a jeep with his body in it to the old cemetery on the edge of town.

Wanda could have told them where their parents were buried so he could be close to them, but she was too-grief stricken to even think. So Pietro let it slide. 

The Avengers each spoke in turn over his remains. Thor said he hoped that Pietro had gone to Valhalla. But Pietro was standing right behind him.

I’m not in Valhalla! he wanted to scream. I’m right here, beside you all! 

The Avengers finally got back into their borrowed truck and left. Wanda got on a S.H.I.E.L.D. jet to go back to America. She was going to stay at Stark Tower. Well--Captain  
Rogers and Natasha Romanoff would look after her there. And Stark wouldn’t harm her, he had to tell himself.

So he stayed behind in the square and watched the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet taking off. And then he turned to leave.

 

He went back to the cloudy space for a time. He found he could talk to the other people there--but it made sense, since they were also dead. 

But he went back to Earth a lot to check on Wanda. She stayed cooped up in her guest room in Stark Tower for a few days, mourning for him.

There wasn’t any reason for her to mourn. It didn’t make sense to him. He was right there next to her. But there was no way for her to know that.

He got along just fine with the other spirits. But he hated to spend time with them. All of the people in the cloudy space were content. They weren’t bothered by the fact that they were dead.

He did find his parents, after a while. They were happy to see him--sad that he was dead and separated from his sister, but proud of the man he had grown up to be. Don’t worry about Wanda, they told him. She can take care of herself.

But that was not what Pietro wanted to hear. It was his job to take care of Wanda. It always had been. It always would be. He wasn’t about to abandon her just because he was dead.

In the cloudy place, he could look down at his feet and between them see, as through a window, Wanda going on with her life, talking to the Avengers, crying, brooding by herself. He much preferred being next to her to see what was happening.

He knew how she felt--she was devastated. She didn’t know how to go on with her life without him.

He wanted to let her know that everything was all right. That there was no reason to feel bad for him. But he couldn’t.

Wanda gradually started spending more time out of her room. She and the other Avengers, usually the Captain, went for walks in a park in the city.

Pietro got tired of having to go back and forth across space to see his sister. He couldn’t go through the windows he saw in the cloud space.

Once, when he had caught a glimpse of Wanda at the park and he was feeling too frustrated to go see her, he started to wander around the cloud space listlessly. He happened  
across a young married couple who were walking through an archway off to his right. Curious, he followed them.

He was in a park. It was very much like the parks back on Earth. To one side, people he had see in the cloud space wandered through the trees, often in twos and threes, talking  
quietly together or holding hands. 

On the other side, he saw a broad lawn that stretched out to meet a walking path. On the other side of the path, however, was Central Park in New York City.

And there was Wanda, sitting on a bench and talking to Steve Rogers.

Pietro immediately ran across the lawn. He hovered around her and the Captain. He tried the usual means of contacting her, waving, pulling her hair, tapping her or her friend’s  
shoulder. Nothing worked, of course. Eventually Steve and Wanda got up and left.

The park of the dead blended in seamlessly with the park of the living. He went back to the dead side, kicking the grass as he went.

He was in the park most of the time from then on. He mostly sat on a bench facing the one where Wanda had sat, waiting for her to appear. And she came every other day. When he got tired of waiting, he got back up and paced, wandering aimlessly through the grove of trees where the dead lingered--except he didn’t really see the others much. Most of them came with their loved ones to go for a brief stroll but then returned to the cloud place, which was just a foggy bank at the edge of the grove. 

He would have spent more time with his parents, but it didn’t seem right without Wanda. Their parents were something they had always shared.

If a spirit could feel sickness, then he felt it every time he saw her. He eventually stopped trying to get her attention. He knew there wasn’t any point. He’d just walk to one side while she and whoever she was with went through Central Park without a care in the world. And whenever she sat down on her bench with her friends, he would sit down on his own, facing her.

 

It had been six weeks since he had died. The Avengers were talking about setting up a new base in upstate New York. Captain America was creating a new team, and he wanted Wanda to be on it.

That’s all well and fine, Pietro thought to himself as he watched Steve and Wanda on the bench, discussing their plans. But what am I going to do?

“Yeah, I know the feeling, mate.”

Pietro looked up behind him. He looked around in case the person was addressing someone else, but Pietro was alone on the bench. The person standing behind him was of a  
medium, stocky build and had red hair and an abundance of freckles on his face.

“You mind if I sit down?”

“No, go ahead,” said Pietro, sitting up and scooting over to admit the stranger.

“Yeah. I lost a twin, too. They say it’s the living who lose us when we die. But the dead, we’re separated from them, too. And we can’t always be with them. They can’t always  
tell when we’re there.”

“But when can they tell we’re with them?”

“They just have to pay attention. It took me a while to figure that out. There’s too many of us who give up on our loved ones before they realize that we’re always with them--to  
many who go back and go on without letting them know we’re with them. But, fortunately, not all of the living are as thick as we think they are. I’m Fred. Fred Weasley.

“Pietro Maximoff.” 

“Pleasure to meet you.”

They shook hands--the dead could touch each other, fortunately. Fred couldn’t have been much younger when he died than Pietro was.

“Are you new?” Fred asked

“About a month. Give or take.”

“What happened?”

“Did you not hear about what happened in Sokovia?”

“I think you’re from an alternate dimension than me, mate. You tell me what happened.”

“Well...I saved man’s life. I got between him and the crazy robot trying to kill him.”

“Ah. A noble sacrifice. Well done.”

“And you?”

“Casualty of war. I went out fighting a battle so my brother’s best friend could defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort. And he did, so it’s all good.”

“How long ago was this?”

“Oh...eighteen years. Not too long. I’ve gotten to watch my twin and the rest of the family get married and start having babies. It’s fun. I’ve got a nephew named after me. The  
joke shop I helped start is doing better than I hoped it would.”

“Is that so?” Pietro nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Where are you from?”

“England. And you?”

“Sokovia.”

“All right.” They heard shouting coming from behind them. Fred looked up over his shoulder. “Well, hey, it was nice meeting with you, Pietro. We should hang out again sometime.”

“We should.”

“Take care.”

 

A few days later he was in the same place at about the same time of day. Wanda and Steve were in Central Park again, but for presumably the last time. They were moving upstate in a few days.

Pietro was feeling absolutely morose. His sister seemed to be getting better every day. He was the one who was feeling down about his own death.

“Oi! Pietro!”

He looked behind him. There was Fred Weasley, walking up to the bench. He scooted over to make room for him.

“Thought that’d be you. How’s it goin’?”

“I’m well enough.”

“What’s happening?”

“They’re...leaving the city, in a few days.”

“Well, that’s just life, mate. People move around. But you’ll still be able to see her. Where’s she going again?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, you’ll figure it out. So you gave me a brief summary, but I think I need to hear more about how you died. What’s your story, mate? I’ve got time, you can tell me  
everything.”

“Well…” Pietro started off with his and Wanda’s long-nursed hatred of the Avengers--Fred had heard of them, but he dropped the line again about being from “an alternate  
dimension.” Pietro told him about volunteering for Strucker’s experiments and then the Avengers’ attack. 

He gave an account of how he’d met Clint Barton, the archer. “So then I walked up to him and I said, ‘You didn’t see that coming?’” 

Fred laughed. “That’s genius! You really blindsided him!”

Pietro laughed. “I wounded Barton, too, but it wasn’t serious. But my sister, meanwhile…” He launched into the story about Ultron’s creation and rise to power. 

“You know, come to think of it, it was not very wise, my sister and I trusting Ultron,” said Pietro. “We didn’t know what all of his intentions were.”

“We all make mistakes. Do things we’re not proud of. But what happened next?”

Pietro continued the story. Fred was really impressed that he and Wanda had changed sides in Korea and then gone on to fight Ultron. Pietro told him how he and his sister had  
spent time talking to the Avengers during their flights, first to New York and then to Sokovia. 

“They were really nice to us. I don’t know why we thought we had to fight against them. They were just people like us. Captain Rogers, he wasn’t much older than me and  
Wanda--well, take off the years he was frozen on ice. And he really understood what we’d been through, why we’d made the choices we did.” He looked up across the lawn to the  
bench in Central Park. Steve and Wanda were getting up to leave.

“He seems like a nice guy,” said Fred.

“Yes, and then Barton. I think he’s forgiven us. He really wanted to help us out. He didn’t blame us at all.” Pietro described the final battle and how he’d died. Fred was impressed.

“Well, you did good, mate,” said Fred, patting him on the shoulder.

“So what is your story?” Pietro asked.

“Well, it’s a complicated one. In my life, I was a wizard. I came from a large family--six brothers including myself and my twin, George, and one sister, Ginny. All of us, we went  
to this school, Hogwarts. We studied magic there. My twin and I, we always enjoyed pulling pranks and making people laugh. It was what we were good at. So we set out to start a joke shop. Our parents were against it--they wanted us to go into some respectable profession. But that wasn’t what we wanted.”

“But how did you die?”

“Well, there was a boy at Hogwarts named Harry Potter. He was friends with my youngest brother Ron--have you heard of Harry Potter? They say he’s gotten really famous across  
multiple dimensions. Some Muggle named J.K. Rowling published his story as a seven-book series. Really popular.”

“I can’t say I’ve heard of him,” said Pietro. “We didn’t get a lot of American things in Sokovia.”

“Harry Potter is British.”

“Oh. Whatever. Is same.”

“No, it’s not.”

“But anyway, what did this Harry Potter do to you?”

“Well, he didn’t do anything to me--I guess you could say I died fighting for him.” Fred summarized Harry’s seven-year struggle against Lord Voldemort and how that had  
culminated in the Battle of Hogwarts. Fred also told about how his brother Percy had gone against the family for two years, only to come back and side with them.

“And then just when Perce announced his resignation to the puppet Minister of Magic--some explosion hit the hallway we were in. I came off the worse for it, I suppose. I don’t remember anything else afterwards. Except being dead. I watched the rest of the final battle, and afterward I tried to get a hold of George--get his attention, just like you did, mate. It wasn’t any use. For a while I wasn’t sure who was sorrier that I had died, him or me.”

“I hear you,” said Pietro. “It is too bad. Losing any sibling is painful, but losing a twin--a twin is--”

“They’re your whole life,” said Fred. “I gather it’s been taking your sister a while, to find her own way?”

“Yes, it has.”

“Well, she’ll get there, don’t you worry. George did figure it out, eventually. He’s been running the joke shop without me. He still misses me. Every day. But he learned to move  
on.”

“So tell me about this joke shop. What kind of things do you sell?”

“Well, lots of things--not really sure I could explain to a Muggle--”

“What’s a Muggle?”

“A person who isn’t a witch or wizard, mate. But anyway. Our joke shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes. We did a roaring trade from the day we opened.” He tried to describe some  
of the products. Pietro was fairly entertained. “I still can’t believe you haven’t heard of all this stuff. I mean, the Potter books and the films were a global phenomenon in other dimensions--that should have included yours. You should have heard of Fred and George Weasley.”

Pietro shrugged. “Well, I’m sorry I didn’t.” 

“Come on, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” 

Fred stood up and Pietro walked with him across the lawn, back towards the trees.

“Who are we meeting?”

“Some friends of mine--and friends of Harry Potter, too.”

They walked through the trees and came to a small open area. Three men and two women, sat on the ground on a picnic blanket. They were talking and laughing, but when Fred  
approached they looked up and greeted him. 

 

“Friends, I would like you to meet Pietro Maximoff. He’s a new arrival in these parts.”

“How do you do?” asked a man with dark hair and glasses.

“Pietro, these are the Marauders, Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs. And their girlfriends, Lily and Tonks.”

The gentlemen smiled and nodded, the women said hello--one of them had short, bright-pink, spiky hair. Pietro waved slightly.

“Where are you from, mate?” asked the man with glasses.

“Have a seat,” said the man who had long, black hair. “Tell us about yourself.”

Pietro began to tell them his story. They really liked the “You didn’t see that coming” gag. 

“Why didn’t you bring this guy sooner, Weasley?” asked Moony, who had combed-over brown hair. “He’s really cool.”

“He’s wicked,” said Moony’s girlfriend Tonks, smiling at Pietro.

“No, really, you should see my sister. And they call her a witch--but I suppose in my dimension being a witch is something special.”

“And what did they call you?” asked Padfoot.

Pietro shrugged. “Clint Barton had a few nicknames for me. Sonic the hedgehog, Speedy Gonzales. That sort of thing.”

“You don’t look like a hedgehog,” said Prongs’ girl Lily.

“He is a hedgehog,” said Tonks. There were a few laughs around. 

He told his eager listeners about his and Wanda’s powers. They had a harder time understanding exactly what Wanda could do. He didn’t really get that other people didn’t  
understand Wanda’s powers: they made perfect sense to him.

And these friends of Fred’s had a hard time seeing how Wanda was a witch or could do magic--they came from a world where magic was completely different, a lot less chaotic and much more understandable.

Prongs and Lily, it turned out, were the parents of the famous Harry Potter that Fred talked so much about. They had died when Harry was a little more than a year old. Padfoot was Harry’s godfather but had spent most of his life in prison and then spent two years on the run. Moony and Tonks had died together at the same battle Fred had perished in, leaving behind an infant son. The dead gathered here sympathized with Pietro’s troubles--loss, regret, the pain of having to watch your loved ones from a distance. But they had figured out something that Pietro hadn’t learned yet.

“We were with Harry in many of his darkest moments,” said Lily. “He couldn’t alway see us, but he knew we were with him.”

“I think the real kicker was when Harry learned to conjure a Patronus,” said Prongs. “I mean, Padfoot here hadn’t even told him what my animagus shape was, but he conjured it himself and out came this massive stag--” he spread his arms wide to demonstrate. “And then he knew. He just knew. I’m so proud of him.” Prongs gave a contented smile.

The Marauders told Pietro their story, and Pietro spent the better part of a pleasant afternoon in the afterlife listening to them talk--well, it wasn’t like time passed in the afterlife. But the light was always like mid-afternoon.

Fred’s friends, in return, wanted to hear about the Avengers. There was little Pietro could tell them--most of his life the Avengers had been his enemies. But they really sympathized with Captain America’s story. The guys thought Clint Barton was amazing. Tonks said she’d met Natasha Romanoff’s parents--apparently the Avengers had a lot of dead relatives.

“Well, it’s the price for becoming great, I suppose,” said Prongs. “My son Harry lost us--a lot of his friends lost their families, too.”

“Been meaning to ask, actually, Prongs,” Fred spoke up. “Have you guys seen Hedwig around? Harry’s owl?”

“That I couldn’t tell you,” said Prongs. “I guess owls go off to their own place when they die.”

“But my family had an owl that died when I was young, and I’ve seen him around plenty,” said Tonks. “Don’t you think it’s strange, that we haven’t seen Hedwig?”

“She was a beautiful owl,” said Lily. “And she was a good friend to Harry. He’s missed her. But owls come and go, in the wizarding world.”

Pietro spent a lot of time from then on with Fred and the Marauders. True, the Harry Potter books had been banned in Sokovia as Western propaganda, and Pietro now realized  
that he and Wanda had missed out. But this made up for it.

He hoped now that Wanda was in America she would take the time to read the books or at least watch the movies. But whenever he checked on her, he noticed that she’d hadn’t.

“She’ll get there,” Fred reassured him. “Most American Muggles get around to it. Captain Rogers got around to it, and he liked them.”

If Wanda read the books, Pietro hoped, then she would at least have a hint about where he was now. And it would help her to remember him. All she had to do, Fred said to him,  
was to believe that he was with her still.

But she didn’t.

The months passed. The new Avengers team assembled. Autumn came to upstate New York. Pietro watched Wanda go out and live her new life. He was happy for her. He’d found a new normal in the afterlife, and she had a new normal with the living. 

But she missed him. Even though his death wasn’t always on her mind, it still came back every so often. And it pained her.


	2. The Cage

A cold, bitter wind had swept across upstate New York and shook the leaves from the trees. All that was left were bare branches against a steel-gray sky. The frost came every morning but no snow had fallen yet.

Ever since Steve had returned from his trip to Denver, a somber mood had fallen on the Avengers. Everyone felt bad for him, Wanda guessed. Felt bad that he’d lost his chance at reconnecting with his best friend, felt bad that Bucky was now nowhere to be found--felt bad that Hydra had killed Bucky’s girlfriend, just to get at him.

Wanda pulled her scarf tighter around her neck. It was no use, she realized, blaming anyone for what had gone wrong. All they could do was pick up the pieces and move on with their lives. There was always hope that Bucky would turn up again, but the way Steve acted, that was now beyond even a shadow of a chance. 

She walked along the lane with her hands in her coat pocket. She kept meaning to buy winter gloves and she kept forgetting. At least she’d gotten the nice coat at the thrift store before the most recent cold spell. For now, she could stick her hands in the pockets and keep them from getting too cold.

She came upon her apartment building, crossed the street, and climbed up the stairs. The heater was on full blast, and she hung her coat and scarf on a rack that Natasha had gotten. She heard noises coming from Natasha’s room and she went to investigate. Natasha was packing a suitcase with clean underwear, socks, shoes, and a few casual outfits.

“Did you have a nice walk?” she asked Wanda.

Wanda didn’t say anything but nodded as Natasha moved around the bed to her closet to get out one of her nicer outfits.

“You look like you’re never going to see me again,” she said, noticing Wanda’s gloomy face.

“It’s just...I’m not worried,” said Wanda.

But Natasha was worried for her. “I’ll be fine,” said Natasha. “I’ve been brushing up on my Spanish. People I’ve practiced with say I sound pretty good. I’ll only be gone a few   
days.”

“What if you hurt your back again?”

Natasha had considered that possibility. She didn’t like Wanda asking that, Wanda sensed.

“I won’t,” said Natasha confidently.

Wanda went to the bathroom vanity to touch up on her makeup.

“So what are you going to do with yourself while I’m gone?” asked Natasha from her room.

“I’ll stay at the Avengers’ base and hang out in the control room.”

“Do me a favor and don’t do that the entire time I’m gone.”

“What else is there to do?”

“Besides worry about me?”

“I’m open to suggestions.”

Wanda heard the clattering of hangers. “Make cookies. Skype the Bartons. Hang out off-base with Vision or Steve--I’ve noticed that you’ve been hanging out a lot with Vision   
lately.”

“Only because Steve is busy.”

“Or you could chill with Agent Tanner. She’ll be as beside herself as you are worrying about Sorensen.”

“I can imagine. Just promise me you won’t corrupt the poor boy’s morals.”

“I imagine I won’t need to.”

“Could I let Hillary hang out over here? Sleep over if she wanted to?”

“If you found the time. But Coulson will probably want to keep her close. This is a high-stakes operation. There’s no telling what we’ll find.”

Wanda went to her room and sat on the bed.

Natasha went to the vanity area to pack her makeup and toiletries. “I’ll be ready to leave in about ten minutes.”

Wanda wasn’t sure what to do with herself in the meantime. She had a book she was reading but she wasn’t enjoying it as much as she thought she’d like.

She looked over at the picture of Pietro on her bedside table. She ended up picking it up to look at.

She had missed him, during the last several days. Well, more than usual. Where was he when she needed him to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be all right,   
that there was nothing to be afraid of?

Natasha sometimes asked her if she had any tricks for calming herself when stressed. The truth was, Pietro had been her trick. Without him, the best she could manage was to just not say anything and to stew in her frustration until it passed. It didn’t help that sometimes this led to her powers causing an accident, ranging from the lights flickering to something small exploding. Sometimes Captain Rogers asked her if she needed to leave the room when she was angry. Wanda was the new Avengers’ team equivalent to the Hulk--and she wasn’t sure she liked that.

Pietro wouldn’t have cheered up just her, if he was here. He would have comforted Steve, in his moment of crisis. He would have gotten Sam and Rhodey and Vision to laugh. He would have buoyed up Natasha’s spirits as she got ready to head out on her assignment. 

“Wanda, you ready?” Natasha appeared in the doorway to Wanda’s room.

“Yes.” Wanda put aside Pietro’s picture and laid it on the bedside table--she would set it up properly later.

They got into their shared car and drove out to the base. Wanda didn’t like the idea of Natasha going out on a separate assignment. The Captain, however, had decided that it would be too dangerous and too diplomatically risky to send in all six of them at once to the Hydra base in Mexico. Natasha spoke fluent Spanish, was an expert spy, and the best scout on the team--she was ideal for the assignment. Going in with her was Agent Mitch Sorensen of S.H.I.E.L.D., one of Coulson’s assistants. Mitch had been working for S.H.I.E.L.D. less than a year and he had no experience in espionage or stakeouts. But Coulson had told the Avengers that Mitch had learned a lot in the last few months--that he was a lot more mature and experienced than he had been when he joined. And besides, he would be with the best.

When they arrived at the base, Wanda and Natasha went straight to the locker room. Natasha changed into her Avengers’ uniform quickly and packed whatever gear and supplies she had in her locker. Wanda took her to the armory and helped her test and pack her equipment. It hurt her that in a few minutes she would have to say goodbye. But Natasha occasionally glanced up at her and smiled to reassure her.

They finally arrived at the main hangar. Cap and Wilson were waiting there in uniform. Rhodey was present but dressed in a polo shirt and jeans. Vision was chatting with Director Coulson. Coulson looked up, however, when Natasha and Wanda entered the room.

“Well, I’m glad you finally made it,” said Coulson, walking up to shake hands with her. “What took you so long?”

“Just double-checking my gear, sir.” 

Mitch Sorensen was standing next to Coulson. “Well, are you ready to go, junior?”

“I’m as ready as I will be.” Mitch was wearing a dark-colored camo suit with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on it. 

The pilot who would be taking them to Mexico came out to greet them. He took Natasha’s bag on board. Steve and the others said their goodbyes to Natasha.

“Be careful out there,” said Steve. “Don’t take any unnecessary risks--that’s an order.”

“Do I ever follow orders?” she said. They hugged. 

“Good luck, Natasha,” said Hillary Tanner.

“Thanks.”

“And take care of Mitch for me.”

“Any dirty secrets you want to tell me about him?”

“Yeah. He talks in his sleep. And he cries when he gets hurt.”

Coulson and Mitch laughed.

Natasha turned to Wanda last. 

“I’ll be okay,” Natasha said to her.

“Just come home.” They hugged.

Coulson shook hands with Natasha and Mitch one last time. And then they got onto the S.H.I.E.L.D. plane.

Hillary moved over next to Wanda while they waited for the plane to leave. “How are you doing, Wanda?” Hillary asked her.

“I am doing fine. Just...normal. How about yourself?”

“Doing okay,” Hillary nodded.

The recent tragedy in Albuquerque had affected Hillary profoundly, but she didn’t say anything about it to Wanda. Wanda saw the look that passed between her and Steve. 

The engine of the S.H.I.E.L.D. jet turned on and the back door closed. The plane taxied out of the open doors of the hangar and took off.

 

The next day was sunny and slightly warmer. Hillary and Wanda went out for lunch together and then went for a walk in the park.

“I do not understand you, Hillary,” Wanda said. “How is it that the death of a total stranger upset you so badly?”

“Well, it’s hard to say,” said Hillary. “I mean, I never had the chance to meet her in person. But I stalked her on Facebook, so I know a little of what she was like, in life. I think it was mostly that Bucky liked her, and I was close to him. He was...Grace was all he really wanted in life. So when she died...it was like all that he had cared about was gone. That’s why he left, you see. And I guess I just feel bad for him, you know?”

“I get it. A little,” said Wanda. “So tell me about your family. I do not know you very well, I think.”

Hillary described her family to Wanda--her older siblings, her younger brother, her adorable nieces and nephews. It was a nice break, to Wanda, to hear about someone who had a normal life and a normal family to go back to. 

“And of course Bucky was a part of that family.”

“Yes. I didn’t even want him to be--he belongs out here with Steve, you know? But...Bucky chose us. I guess he liked us. And now Mom has a picture of him on the piano and   
my grandma has a fit every time she walks in and sees it--’You can’t keep a picture of that filthy hobo around! He had terrible manners!’ Ha. Grandma’s...gone a little loopy in her old age.”

“I am sorry.”

“It’s all right. I just tell myself I still love her.”

“Now, your grandma, is she your mom’s mother or your dad’s mother?”

“She’s my dad’s mom. She lives on her own but there’s a caregiver that comes around once a day to keep an eye on her. And my dad’s family takes turns bringing her around,   
driving her places, feeding her on Sundays. She can be spouting poetry one moment about what an honorable and upright granddaughter I am, and the next she’s ranting off about why my sister shouldn’t be wearing the blouse that shows off her baby bump.”

Wanda laughed.

“So tell me about...well, I’d say you can tell me about your family, but you’re an orphan. So insensitive of me.”

“No, it is fine. At least I knew who my parents were.”

“Did you have any extended family in Sokovia?”

“Yes. Pietro and I were raised by an aunt after our parents died, but we moved out on our own when we were teenagers. Our aunt and uncle were poor and already had children   
of their own. We felt bad.”

“I see.”

“We had extended family, I guess, that we knew about, but we weren’t close. I might be friends with one or two of my cousins on Facebook. But it’s just been hard to keep track   
of everyone since what happened in Sokovia. And especially since the two years before that we were working for Strucker.”

Hillary nodded. She came from a completely different background than Wanda, but she didn’t judge her--in fact she wanted to hear more.

“So Pietro and I, we were more than siblings, we were best friends, schoolmates, partners in crime. He was always there for me. Losing him...I have such a huge gap in my life. I used to go to him for everything. But now, talking to Steve or Natasha or Vision isn’t the same. Even talking to you. Compared to Pietro, all these people are strangers. They’re not as easy to trust. But a twin brother...it’s like a built-in friend, almost.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling. I mean, I’m not that close to my own siblings…” Hillary trailed off. 

“You trusted Bucky, in that manner?”

Hillary shrugged. “He was...he didn’t ask to be my confidant, he just...he opened up to me, and I opened up to him. Having him in my life was...extremely frustrating. I had to let him know about that...I ended up letting him know about a lot more than I’d wanted him to. But he didn’t mind listening, at all. So yeah. I kind of know what it feels like, to lose a brother.”

And Wanda was grateful that Hillary understood just the slightest bit of her pain. 

“I shouldn’t, though--that’s the relationship he’d always had with Steve--”

“No, no, he came to you. Don’t beat yourself up about that. And I’m sure Steve understands. He’s had time, to reconcile.”

Hillary nodded. “I know he has. At least we can be in the same room together without wanting to kill each other.”

She and Wanda giggled. 

 

All day long at the Avengers’ headquarters, Steve and Coulson and Maria Hill had been in the mission control room, communicating with Natasha and Mitch as they had set up their stakeout in the mountains of northern Mexico. They were joined at intervals by Hillary, Wanda, Rhodey, Sam, Vision, and Nick Fury. Natasha had been to the local village--apparently her nice clothes and wig turned a lot of people off, and there wasn’t much that the people knew about what was going on with Hydra anyway. Mitch took photos and messaged notes on the layout of the base and the terrain as the day passed.

That night, they sat in the control room watching as Natasha and Mitch attempted to get in close to the Hydra base. It was still too easy for Mitch to forget the danger and give a live commentary as they went. But Wanda was a lot less at ease when he wasn’t talking and all they had to go on was the feed from the camera on Mitch’s helmet showing them the dry grass and the rocks. They tried getting close to the main entrance of the Hydra base, but then one of the guards on patrol saw Mitch and Natasha. The camera feed became shaky and there was radio static mingled with the noise of gunshots.

Steve and Coulson were standing up in the control room.

“Sorensen? Sorensen? Mitch, do you copy?” Steve shouted to the microphone. The screen showing the camera feed went blank. Two minutes passed in which Steve and Coulson were working with the tech crew to try and get the feed back--but tech support said that it was working perfectly fine on their end.

The image suddenly came back--Mitch was looking directly at the camera.

“I’m okay,” he said, panting. “Do you read me? I’m okay.”

There was a collective sigh of relief.

“Mitch! What happened?” Coulson demanded. 

“It’s okay. I think the guard spotted us. He fired at us. Romanoff had to grab me and roll me down the hill--you should have seen her, she was firing her gun while we were   
moving.”

“Mitch, shut up!” shouted Natasha off the camera, adding an oath.

“Sorry, Romanoff. So, anyway, we’re all right for right now. We’re going to lie low for a few minutes before heading back to base camp--we need to make sure nobody’s on our   
trail. It doesn’t look like anybody’s followed us, so far. We’ll sign off for now.”

“Take care of yourself,” said Steve.

“Mitch, be careful!” said Hillary. The screen went blank, and Hillary groaned. She leaned forward onto the control panel. Wanda decided to give her a back rub. Hillary didn’t   
respond but made a few noises of relief.

 

Steve and Coulson decided to send everybody else home while they stayed up to keep an eye on things. Hillary went to Wanda’s apartment and crashed on the couch. Neither of them felt particularly like staying up or hanging out.

They got up early the next morning. Low, gray clouds were sweeping over the sky and the wind was blowing.

They got to base and were relieved to find that Mitch and Natasha had survived the night. They planned to stay low during the day and head out again to the Hydra base in the evening. Steve was getting antsy and he paced up and down the control room floor. Wanda and Hillary were in the room, not really sure what to say to him.

Vision entered the control room, looking tall and unruffled as usual. “It is not very good weather for flying today,” he said.

Wanda looked at him. 

“Just an observation,” he said. “Have we had any word from them since this morning, Captain?”

“No, and I suppose no news is good news,” said Steve.

They sat around in silence for a minute. Hillary checked her phone. Steve had that discouraged look on his face that he got when he was thinking about Bucky--it had become more pronounced recently. Wanda observed the thoughts of the other three in the room, but there wasn’t much going on in their minds that she hadn’t seen before. 

Vision heard something and looked up at the glass doors that led out of the control room to the hallway. Wanda looked with him. There was a man approaching--but he was no man of this world. He was ancient, over a thousand years of earth’s time in age. And he was very wise, and well-traveled. But one couldn’t tell that just by looking at him. As he approached, she saw that he was wearing a trenchcoat and a rain hat, and he walked slowly as he was encumbered by a large object he was carrying--Wanda guessed it was a cage, it was metal and rattled, but it was covered with a pale blue cloth.

The door to the control room was padlocked, but the man pulled something out of his pocket--a remote, Wanda guessed--that made the door unlock. Steve and Hillary looked up when they heard the lock click and the door open. The man stepped inside, still clutching the remote as he pulled the door open.

“Where is everyone?” he asked casually.

“Who’re you?” Steve asked.

The man put the remote back in his pocket. He removed his hat. His face was wrinkled and pouchy and he had curly gray hair. “Captain America?”

Steve stared at him. “Yes?”

“I’ve come to you for help.”

“Excuse me, who are you and how did you get in here?” asked Hillary. “Security would have told us--”

“--that I was coming, yes, well, everyone else is preoccupied. I have urgent business with the Captain.”

Wanda gathered up her powers and raised a hand to strike. “Tell us your business, then.”

“I am the Doctor,” said the man. “And like I said, I’ve come to ask for Captain America’s help.”

Wanda lowered her hand.

“What kind of a Doctor are you?” asked Vision: he was curious but not alarmed.

“I am the Doctor.”

“You mean like the Doctor in Doctor Who, the British TV show?” asked Hillary.

“That is exactly who I am,” the Doctor answered, “though you being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent I thought you would be more aware of my existence.”

“Well, this isn’t S.H.I.E.L.D., so forgive us if we’re a little bit surprised,” said Steve, still sounding a little tense. 

“Not a problem. Now, I have come to ask for your help--if we could all gather over there, around that table. You may be in for a bit of a long story.” The Doctor gestured with the cage over to a table on the side of the room. Everyone walked over there, but kept their eyes on the Doctor. “There is no need to fear me. I do not intend harm to any of you. But please, do not call Hill or Fury or anyone else--that may complicate things.” He pulled out his remote and pointed it at Hillary’s phone as she was dialing. There was a buzzing sound. 

“What did you do to her phone?” Wanda snapped.

“Hopefully nothing terrible.”

“Hopefully?”

“It’s all right, it just froze,” said Hillary. “I guess you mean business, Doc. So what’s the issue?”

He stood on one end of the table and the others stood opposite, watching him.

He looked at Steve. “Captain Rogers, I have heard about your campaign against Hydra. Your work has been remarkable. I have come to ask you for help because I believe that   
Hydra has become involved with...well...a small space-time anomaly.”

“An anomaly? What are we talking about?”

“There was a crack in the space-time continuum in the south of Britain, Surrey, to be exact. A rip in space connecting two parts of time that should not be together. Specifically   
linking an abandoned field in Surrey in this dimension in a time about four years ago with the same location in a different version of the year 1997. That was the most the   
instruments on the T.A.R.D.I.S. could figure out, anyhow.”

“What’s the T.A.R.D.I.S.?”

“My time machine, would be the rude wording for it. Time and Relative Dimension in Space. But to continue, on further examination of that crack, I discovered that something   
had fallen out of it from the past into this dimension, four years past. Specifically, this.”

The Doctor raised the cage he was carrying onto the table and removed the cover. It looked like it was supposed to be a birdcage--a cage for a very large bird, in fact. It was   
domed and made of tarnished brass. The most remarkable feature, however, was that there was a massive hole in the side of the cage where the door to it should have been. The   
door, in fact, had been ripped off from the cage in one piece.

“A bird cage?” said Wanda.

“What happened to the bird?” asked Vision.

“That was what I wanted to find out when I discovered it,” said the Doctor gravely. “Why leave the cage when it would have been easier to keep the bird inside it? My only guess is the bird must have been valuable. By the time I discovered it, the cage had been lying on the ground in the middle of nowhere for several days. But using my sonic screwdriver--” he pulled the remote out of his pocket “--I traced the bird inside of it and the people who broke it out. I found them in London. Specifically in a science lab in Murray College--but not just any lab, mind you, a high-security one, underground, guards at the door with weapons. Something is definitely not right here. The people working in the lab took the bird for research--either something happened to it, or they wanted to run some kind of an experiment, or both. But I cannot say that their intentions were good. I did not want to run the risk of breaking into the lab by myself, so I came to you for help, Captain.”

“But why me?”

“Because the lab is owned and operated by Hydra. The doors and the guards all had S.H.I.E.L.D. labels, but this was four years ago. One of the people who worked in that lab, I saw him sulking around outside, an Owen Middlestone, he was a friend of Wolfgang von Strucker and an ally of Hydra. Even with all of the Avengers’ recent advances against Hydra, I went to check on the lab in the present day--it is still secret and carefully guarded. Several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who openly defected after the fall are still working there.”

“So you want us to take them out?”

“Well--I just came to tell you what was happening,” said the Doctor. “It’s up to you, Captain--but I thought you might like to look into it.”

A smile teased the end of Steve’s lips. He was thinking of getting even with Hydra for what they’d done to Bucky’s girlfriend, Wanda could tell that. 

“You know what, Doc, I’ll take you up on that.”

“Cap, how do we know he’s telling the truth?” asked Hillary.

“I don’t trust him either, Tanner” said Steve. “What do you know about the Doctor--besides the TV show?”

“I know the Doctor fights against evil.”

“Call forensics and have them examine the cage,” said Steve. “Doc, you mind sticking around for a while?”

“Of course not, Captain.”

“Come with me, then.” The Doctor followed Steve out of the room. Hillary got on the intercom and dialed for the Forensics team lead, Maria Hill, and Coulson.

Vision and Wanda walked around the side of the table for a better look at the cage. “I don’t see why we shouldn’t believe him,” said Vision. “His intentions seem honest to me.”

“I do not think the Captain would send us on a fool’s errand across space and time with a man he hardly knows--with an alien, for that matter,” said Wanda, watching the others disappear down the hallway.

 

Maria Hill came with the Forensics team to remove the cage. Nick Fury was also informed of the Doctor’s arrival--he was displeased, but he was more concerned about the Mexico op at the moment to make a fuss.

Hillary went and found Coulson and walked back with him up to the Forensics lab.

“I told Steve that he could trust the Doctor,” said Hillary. “But I’m not so sure about that, to be honest. I haven’t actually seen the show.”

“I think you made a good call,” said Coulson as he pressed an elevator button. “As far as the latest series of Doctor Who is concerned, the Doctor is still a good guy--complicated,   
but a good man. I haven’t seen it either. But given what S.H.I.E.L.D. knows about his history, and what my friends who’ve seen the show have told me, it’s enough to go on.”

“Maybe for you,” said Hillary as the elevator dinged and they walked on. “But should we tell Steve about this guy?”

“Would it be in Steve’s best interest?”

“Yes.” Coulson gave her a look. “No?”

“From the sound of things, the Doctor had good motives, calling us up,” said Coulson. “We don’t need to second-guess them. We don’t have all the information. For right now,   
there’s no need to question him.”

“I dunno, boss, he sounds like the kind of person who could get under Steve’s skin.”

“A lot of people can do that.”

“But the Doctor especially,” said Hillary as they walked out of the elevator.

“Right. So maybe we should tell the Doctor to be transparent with Steve. Do you think he’d listen?”

“He’d better.”

 

In the Forensics lab of the Avengers’ base, the broken cage was placed on a table and run under several different scanners to detect radiation, dirt, microbes, and other features. The results corroborated the Doctor’s story that the cage had been in a spot outdoors for several days before being found. Judging by the residue of feces on the bottom and other signs, the cage had once been inhabited by a bird of some sort. The Forensics lead told Steve that he guessed it was an owl, but results about the species were inconclusive. Wanda and Vision were watching the proceedings, as well as Steve and the Doctor. Sam Wilson had also joined them.

Steve scratched his chin. “Hm, 1997 over a field in Surrey, England. Does anything come to mind, Sam?”

“Not off the top of my head,” said Sam Wilson. “Would you know, Doc?”

The Doctor folded his arms.

“There are many possibilities,” said the Doctor. “There may have been some kind of an accident. But I am less worried about where the cage came from than what happened after   
it landed.”

“Of course you are,” said Sam.

Phil Coulson entered the room, followed by Hillary Tanner. “Sorry I’m late. What did I miss?” 

“Coulson, I would like you to meet the Doctor.” Steve turned the Doctor out to face Coulson.

“Director Coulson, a pleasure to finally meet you,” said the Doctor, shaking hands with the Director. 

“Have you heard my name somewhere?”

“You story has gotten around. And before I regenerated I was acquainted with your protege, Emily Bridger.”

“Oh that’s right,” said Coulson. “You met her and Barton in Australia. Wow, that was forever ago.”

“And how have you been?”

“Doing well. I...I see you’ve met my assistant, Hillary. Emily has been gone for a year now...but I’m coping, I guess.” Coulson straightened himself. “So what do we know about the birdcage, then?”

“The Forensics team says that the side of the cage was cut with pliers to remove the animal that was inside of it,” said Steve. “It was a rush job. The cuttings match the bite marks   
for S.H.I.E.L.D.-issue wire cutters released in 2010. It was Hydra.”

“You’re pretty certain?” Coulson asked him.

“Where else would they have gotten it? Hydra is using plenty of stolen or retired S.H.I.E.L.D. gear--and of course it used to be SHIELD. So it leaves a trail.”

“When did you say you found the cage, Doctor?” asked Coulson.

“In relative time, four years ago. But where it came from, it was the late nineties, and it fell through a crack in time that landed in this dimension.”

“Right. So what are we looking at?” He turned to face the operating table where the cage was, keeping his arms folded.

“Well, Hydra didn’t disrupt the space-time continuum, thank heavens, they haven’t figured that out yet, with all of their recent innovations,” the Doctor said, casting a glance at   
Wanda and Vision in the corner. Wanda and Vision were watching him. “Something’s not right here. They can’t be up to anything good with whatever they’ve found in that cage. Awful things happen, to things that are misplaced from different eras, from different dimensions. I should know. I’ve had to resolve some sticky issues in my work. In the wrong hands, with the wrong people, innocent lives can be threatened, terrible forces become unleashed. And with Hydra’s intentions in the mix, it could be chaos. We ignore looking into this at our peril.”

“What are the risks of this operation?” asked Steve.

The Doctor sighed. “The mission may involve breaching barriers of space and time, depending on what it is we find and whether or not we need to return it. And of course there will be the usual breaking into Hydra’s facility and stealing back or rescuing whatever it is they’ve got their hands on. I will be perfectly willing to work alongside you, Captain--or with whomever you choose to go in your stead. I understand that you are already busy--”

“It is all right. We’ve got another op going on down in Mexico, so I’m staying here and keep an eye on things. But I’ll send Wanda Maximoff and Vision with you. Their powers may be just what you need for this.” Steve called them over. “But where are you going?”

“To London.”

“London, right. I understand a lot of your work is done there--big place for aliens, isn’t it?”

“In my dimension, yes--though of course I understand that in your dimension it has seen quite a lot of activity recently. And there will be no need to send any of your own   
transport--I can bring them all in the T.A.R.D.I.S.”

“Your time machine. Right. Well, you take good care of them.”

“No pressure,” Sam added. 

Wanda and Vision came up.

“Wanda, I would like you and Vision to go with the Doctor to London to look into this Hydra thing. When you get there, have S.H.I.E.L.D. scout it out, see what the layout is before   
you break into anything. And be careful. I don’t need you two getting mixed up in space and time issues.”

“We will, Captain.”

“I will look after us both,” said Vision.

“Can I come with you, too?” Coulson spoke up. “I’m the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I can get you in touch with the S.H.I.E.L.D. office there if we need backup--and it sounds like we   
will.”

“You mind if I tag along, boss?” asked Hillary.

“There wasn’t any question of that, Hillary.”

“Well, it’s not every day you get to go to London in the T.A.R.D.I.S.. Somebody’s got to help you out.”

“I guess so.”

“I suppose the more the merrier,” said the Doctor.

“You can leave first thing tomorrow,” said Steve to the Doctor. “That will give time for Wanda and Coulson to get their things ready.”

“If that is what you wish, Captain,” the Doctor told him. “Although I don’t fancy waiting too much longer on this.”

Steve and Sam went to talk to the Forensics team. 

Coulson grabbed the Doctor by the shoulder.

“You said you knew Emily,” he whispered urgently. “Do you know what happened to her, after she went to Asgard?” 

“It is not my place to say,” said the Doctor sternly. He then lightened his expression. “Take heart.” He patted Coulson on the shoulder and walked away.


	3. Arrival in London

“So where did you park this time-machine thing?” Rhodey asked the Doctor when he and the others returned to meet in the control room. 

“Under the stairs in the atrium,” the Doctor replied casually. “And that’s where we should meet tomorrow. What time do you propose we leave?”

Steve was still reeling from the news that the Doctor had parked his time machine indoors.

“We’ll meet at eight o’clock,” Coulson spoke up. “And I’ll get us in touch with the London S.H.I.E.L.D. office to tell them we’re coming.”

“Yes. And do not hesitate to tell them about my involvement. I have met them on a number of occasions--Agent Darrell still in charge there?”

“Yes, though if you know him as the office director there you must have been there pretty recently.”

“Quite.” The Doctor said he would be making preparations in the T.A.R.D.I.S. until their meeting time and departed. Steve was disappointed. He told Coulson that he would have liked to confer with the Doctor on planning out the mission and asking his advice on Hydra and other matters. Wanda really knew, however, that Steve didn’t like the Doctor running off to do his own thing when he was about to be entrusted with two of his teammates.

Wanda hadn’t interacted much with the Doctor that afternoon. He had an odd, twitchy manner and was constantly saying things that the other people around her couldn’t quite comprehend. And she couldn’t look into his mind to get what he was saying--it wasn’t that his mind was closed off to hers, it was just harder to read.

That night they observed remotely Agent Sorensen and Natasha in Mexico scouting out the terrain around the Hydra base. They came across several buried minefields in the valley around the base but were thankfully aware enough of them to not set them off. Other than that there was not much else to report. Hillary and Wanda went back to Wanda’s apartment to pack and to sleep--though sleep was long coming to both of them.

The Doctor was waiting for them in the atrium at eight in the morning. He had shed the trenchcoat to reveal a dark suit and shirt underneath it. His time machine was visible under the stairs like he had said it would be. It was a dark-blue police call box and other than its unusual position it was unremarkable on the outside. Wanda, however, could feel the energy coming from it--the energy of time and space. 

Steve, Sam and Wanda came in their suits, though Wanda and Vision were the only ones going: Steve wanted to make an impression. As he shook hands with the Doctor, he looked as though he was trying hard not to glare at him in warning. 

“If you’ll follow me, then,” said the Doctor after everyone had said their goodbyes. He did a quick turn on his heel towards the T.A.R.D.I.S. and Vision, Wanda, Coulson, and Hillary followed him. He opened the door to admit them. Wanda was the first to go inside, and she had to let out a little exclamation of surprise when she saw the metal staircase leading down.

“My word,” said Vision. “This machine, this spacecraft, it is--”

“Bigger on the inside?” Hillary cut in, gripping the handrail as she stepped down carefully.

“Why, yes, Agent Tanner. How did you know this?” the Doctor asked.

“I just heard it from all my friends who’ve seen the show.”

Coulson craned his neck at every angle as they descended into the control room. “It’s stupendous,” he said.

Wanda had to squint her eyes in the control room. The interior had been painted very darkly, and the metal embellishments were bare. She turned around as she saw the Doctor  
descending into the control room wondering if he would adjust the lights, but he walked straight across the room and to a door leading off to one side. 

“Step right this way,” said the Doctor, waving his arms to show them forward. The room they came to was lit a little brighter and had purple-cushioned chairs around a small table.

“I assure you this will be a short flight,” the Doctor informed them. “But have a seat and make yourselves at home. We’re only going across the pond.”

Everyone sat in the chairs. Wanda let her travel bag fall onto her lap from her shoulder. Coulson and Hillary placed their suitcases upright beside their seats. The Doctor returned  
to the control room.

“I wonder if you can feel anything in this thing,” said Coulson.

“So have you actually watched the television program that this Doctor is from, Agent Tanner?” Vision said.

“I’ve seen bits and pieces,” said Hillary. “But I haven’t formally sat down to watch it.” 

“How come?”

“Because I’m too busy to sit down and watch any television shows from start to finish. And you can call me Hillary, Vision.”

The Doctor returned to the sitting room, carrying a bottle of sherry and a stack of glasses. “I trust we are all comfortable?” he asked.

“Yes, we are, thank you,” said Coulson.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but don’t you normally have a companion?” asked Hillary.

“I do, Agent Tanner. But unfortunately Miss Oswald is off on an errand elsewhere in space. I will be sure to send her your regrets.”

“Well...I didn’t ask to say that, but thank you.”

“It’s really nice of you to take us,” said Coulson. “I’ve never been time-traveling before, actually.”

“Er, technically we’re not really time travelling today,” said the Doctor. “Just space travel, but we’re not really going into space either. Sherry, anyone?” Coulson was the only one  
who took him up on the drink.

“You could argue,” said Vision, “that any kind of travel is space travel, since you are traveling from one space to another.”

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. “Quite a clever observation. I am impressed. But let me ask, however,” the Doctor added, sitting down on a chair next to Vision, about that peculiar gem in your forehead. Is that one of the six Infinity Stones?”

“It is, in fact,” said Vision.

“Infinity Stone? What’s that?” asked Coulson. Apparently neither he nor Hillary had heard about this detail.

“Ah, the Infinity Stones,” said the Doctor, “perhaps the most valuable and dangerous relics in your dimension, perhaps in the entire universe. The legend states that they were forged from six singularities that existed before time and space itself. And each stone has a specific aspect of existence that it controls. Which of the stones is in your forehead, my friend?”

“The Mind Stone,” said Vision.

“And how did it come to be there, I wonder?”

The Doctor hadn’t heard all of the details about what had happened in regards to Ultron. Vision, with some assistance from Wanda, gave an account of Baron Strucker’s  
experiments and the events leading up to the disaster in Sokovia. The Doctor coughed when Vision mentioned that Loki had brought the sceptre to Earth--to the others it seemed  
coincidental, but Wanda could tell he was distressed by the news, though he dismissed it.

“That is quite a remarkable story,” the Doctor commented when Vision concluded. He took the last sip of his sherry. “We’ll have to talk more about it later. But in the meantime, I  
should go check and see if we have arrived at our destination.” He put his glass down on a side table and went back to the control room.

“He seems easy to please,” Coulson stated.

“Well, that is because we haven’t given him any cause to be difficult yet,” said Wanda. The Doctor knew more than he was letting on about the events in their dimension.

The Doctor returned to the room. “We are just arriving in London outside of the S.H.I.E.L.D. station there. The time locally is twenty minutes after one in the afternoon, if you care to know.”

“Twenty minutes,” said Coulson as he fixed his watch. “It only took us that long to cross the Atlantic. Incredible.”

“Well, twenty minutes give or take the time for preparation and boarding and such.”

Everyone stood up and those with baggage carried out their things. Vision offered to take Wanda’s duffle bag but she declined.

Going up the stairs, they emerged from the T.A.R.D.I.S. onto an empty lot facing a busy street. It took a minute for Wanda to get her bearings--it was a shock to see the cars driving on the wrong side of the road. And it had been ages since she had been in such a huge population center, and feeling the volume of minds and emotions and thoughts that came with it made her a little dizzy. Vision looked at her to see if she was okay, and she gave him a nod.

The Doctor led them around the corner. Coulson walked alongside him.

“Ah, I know where we are,” said Coulson, looking around.

Wanda walked up next to Hillary. “Hillary, have you ever been to London before?”

“No, I haven’t. I’ve been all over the world but I’ve never been to the British Isles.” Hillary didn’t say that she’d always wanted to come. 

Wanda had never been to Britain, either, and for a first-time visit it was a bit much to take in. There weren’t any other people on the street as they walked up to the front of an  
office building, but Wanda could feel them around her, feel just how different the British were from Americans and other Europeans.

The white-sided office building they entered had an atrium bustling with people going back and forth, many of them carrying briefcases and a few of them giving weird looks to  
Wanda and Vision. A few were irritated by the noise of Hillary’s rolling suitcase. Several small businesses occupied the lower floors of the building, but Coulson and the Doctor led  
them to an elevator that would take them up to the top four floors--the British Headquarters of S.H.I.E.L.D..

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s new headquarters isn’t much bigger than this, actually,” Coulson told the Doctor while they were on the elevator, and thankfully they had it to themselves. “The building we’re renting in Washington is six stories.”

“Yes, and you’ve managed to find occupants for all of it,” said the Doctor. “Troubling business, S.H.I.E.L.D. falling. Much of your field operation was downsized, I heard. I am actually surprised that your British office wasn’t as well.”

“Yes, well, they’re terribly short-staffed, actually,” said Coulson as he adjusted his grip on his suitcase. The elevator stopped and the door opened. “Here we are.”

The office space beyond the elevator was beige carpets and light-grained wood furniture. There was a desk in the center of the hallway leading off to two different suites. The receptionist sitting there looked up as they entered.

“Are you Director Coulson?” she asked, her accent sharp.

“Yes. Inform Agent Darrell that I am here--and the Doctor is here as well. And the Avengers.”

The receptionist dialed an office phone. Hillary was thinking she might as well have been baggage. Wanda gave her a nudge.

A door off to one side opened. “Director Coulson, so glad you could make it,” said the man who emerged from it. He was tall and rather bald except for some thinning brown hair on the sides of his head that needed to be trimmed. “And Doctor, good to see you again.”

“Everyone, this is Ted Darrell, the director of the London S.H.I.E.L.D. office and the British Liaison for S.H.I.E.L.D.,” Coulson announced to the group. Introductions were made all round. Agent Darrell was a bit taken aback to be meeting two of the Avengers at once--Steve’s new team had yet to visit Britain and the old team had never come over. 

A woman wearing a black business dress came out after Agent Darrell. She was introduced as Agent Darrell’s assistant, Romilda Evans.

“It is so nice to meet you,” she said to Wanda. “I have heard so many good things about you.” And Wanda could tell that Evans didn’t care about the bad things she had heard.

Agent Evans turned to Hillary. “And you’re the one who’s been helping Director Coulson keep things afloat. So charming to meet you in person.”

Hillary blushed a little. “Well, there’s Mitch, too, but he’s in Mexico right now.” Coulson shushed her. “You didn’t need to know that. But, it’s not just me. But thank you.”

Agent Darrell said that the travelers could leave their luggage in his office, and after they had dropped off their things he led them down the hallway to a meeting room. Darrell explained to Hillary, Vision, Wanda, and the Doctor as he went that eighty percent of his staff had been hired after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and most of them had been trained on-the-job by the other twenty percent. Most of them were former employees of the military or other British government agencies so they weren’t too difficult to manage.

When they reached the meeting room, Agent Evans closed the door while everyone took their seats around a table. Agent Darrell pulled up a projector and showed images of the building with the suspected Hydra base. The Doctor and Coulson had already given him the location ahead of time so Darrell and his staff had done some research.

Murray College was a small, private institution in Battersea, but it had a reputation for cutting-edge research in science and technology, specifically in medicine. 

“So it would be the perfect cover, if Hydra wanted to find a place to do some illegal research on a life form,” said Hillary.

“Hm, I wonder if Bucky was ever here,” said Coulson, scratching his chin.

“I don’t wanna know.”

“The lab is prestigious, but rather small in space, at least as far as facilities big enough for treating the Asset are concerned,” said Darrell. “Don’t worry--the Winter Soldier was never in Britain.”

“You should’ve seen the box they were planning to put him in in Scottsdale,” said Hillary.

“I read all about the Scottsdale incident, Agent Tanner.” Darrell smiled at her--he knew that Bucky had been living with Hillary’s family at the time but he wasn’t inclined to tease her about it. “I am not concerned that Hydra is planning a major takeover operation here, however,” he said as he paced in front of the projector screen. “Hydra is much more isolated here in Britain than it is in the States. However, if our friend the Doctor is correct, they are up to something unethical in those labs--something dangerous.”

“The drugs. They could have produced the drugs they used on Bucky,” Coulson spoke up. Then he glanced around sheepishly. “Just thinking aloud. Sorry. Continue.”

Agent Darrell went to the computer to change the image on the projector to a suspect profile page. 

“Now, as we all know, part of the Tangleton Biological Research Laboratory was a S.H.I.E.L.D. special field lab,” said Agent Evans. “It was officially shut down at the fall of  
S.H.I.E.L.D. a year and a half ago. However, they may still be in operation. This is Owen Middlestone,” he said, displaying a picture. “He went missing when the lab was shut  
down, as did many of the people who worked there. And no, as far as we know, Middlestone was never involved with the Winter Soldier. It is believed that in addition to his work with S.H.I.E.L.D., he was also conducting secret research on the side in collaboration with Baron Strucker. If the lab is still in operation, he may be continuing this secret research.”

“What is he making there?” asked the Doctor.

“Coulson said it,” said Hillary. “Drugs. Super-soldiers. He may have wanted to test it on whatever he found in the cage.”

“So where is this lab located in relation to the rest of the school?” asked Wanda.

“I’ll show you,” said Evans. She pulled up a blueprint diagram of the Tangleton Lab building. “S.H.I.E.L.D. used to keep its laboratory in the basement of this building here. It was accessible through an elevator and the emergency stairwells connecting with the main floors of the building. It was also accessible through the service tunnels connecting the other campus buildings.”

“If I may say something, Agent,” the Doctor said, standing up.

“Yes, of course.” Wanda could sense that these British agents who had worked with the Doctor before respected him.

“Thank you.” The Doctor walked around the table and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. “Now, if you look at this blueprint here, where the diagram shows these service tunnels. When I found the cage in the forest, I traced the animal that had been inside of it to this spot here, facing the street. There is a tunnel directly beneath this spot. However, as you can tell there is no direct access to the tunnel from the street in that vicinity that we know about. It may be that Hydra has built a secret entrance to the tunnels or the laboratory space itself.”

This was news to Darrell and Evans.

“So then how do we get in there?” asked Wanda.  
“Hydra is likely to be expecting an attack from one of the known entrances, if it was at all possible for them to anticipate a threat,” said Vision. “If we discovered the secret  
entrance, and attacked from there, then we could have an advantage.”

Agent Darrell nodded. “An astute observation, Vision. But I do not feel like sending in you two just yet, not without a plan of attack.”

“Captain Rogers wanted us to scout it out before we sent them in,” said Coulson. “I’ll go, if you guys don’t mind waiting.”

“Sure,” said Wanda. 

“I’m coming with you,” said Hillary.

“No,” said Coulson firmly, taking her by the hand. “I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Wanda and Vision.”

“You want me to babysit them?”

“No, no, just keep them company. Agent Darrell, will you come with me?”

“Yes, Director. Agent Evans?”

“I’ll come with you, sir.”

“I would have preferred if you stayed behind. This will be dangerous.”

“I understand the risks, sir,” said Evans, not defiantly but confidently. “But I know how to look after myself. I’d rather be watching your back than watching the office. Agent  
Bradford can look after things.”

“I see how it is,” Darrell said in resignation. He and Coulson began to discuss a strategy for a stakeout that very afternoon, using the lab blueprint to outline their plan. 

“What do you think, Doc?” Coulson asked the Doctor when they had finished.

The Doctor exhaled quietly. “It sounds like a fair scheme. You’re the secret agents and I suppose you know what you’re doing. I have only been there once. I would say,  
whatever it is they captured, they found it four years ago. It may not even be there anymore. And if it is, it might not be alive. But the point of this expedition is to find out what happened to the creature, whatever it was, and by that find out what Hydra has been doing in that lab since S.H.I.E.L.D. closed it.”

“Well, good luck,” said Hillary. Wanda could tell she was on edge, and she understood the feeling of being torn between fear of finding nothing and fear of what they might find.

 

“Hey, Pietro!”

Pietro had been lying on the grass, relaxing, but he sat up and saw Fred looking over him.

“Guess what?”

“What?”

“Your sister’s in London right now! Wanna come look?”

“Sure.” Pietro got up and followed Fred through the trees to the lawn. Instead of New York City, the park opened into a grassy space in a city he did not recognize. Pietro would have rushed ahead, but he didn’t know his way around and he assumed that Fred knew where Wanda was.

They came to a white office building in the center of the city. Fred and Pietro snuck onto a lift going upstairs. The lift opened into an office suite that had a logo Pietro recognized on one of the glass partitions.

“S.H.I.E.L.D..”

“Do you know this place?”

“I might know these people. Where is it you saw Wanda?”

“She was in this suite, in a meeting room right over here.” Fred wandered off down the hall and peered through an open doorway. “Nope, she’s not there anymore, but I’ll bet they’re around.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents walking back and forth were oblivious to the two ghosts standing in the hallway. Fred was looking around in confusion. Then they spotted an unusual-  
looking man with red skin and a green and gold cowl, suit, and cape coming from one of the offices.

“It’s Vision!” said Pietro. 

“You know that guy?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Your sister is probably wherever he’s headed,” said Fred. He and Pietro got onto the lift with Vision. Vision did not notice them in any way, even when Pietro tried to wave his  
hand in front of the android’s eyes. Vision stared around the interior of the lift with idle curiosity.

Upstairs there was no reception desk but an open space filled with low-walled cubicles. In the middle of the cubicles was a desk with several computer monitors that group of people were gathered around--including his sister, dressed in a red leather skirt and jacket. Vision called to them as he walked over to join them.

 

“Have Coulson and the others arrived yet?”

“They haven’t called back for a while,” said Hillary. “They’re probably still in transit. Bradford, do you know how the traffic is today?”

Agent Bradford, a skinny man with curly blond hair, shrugged his shoulders. “London traffic’s always bad, miss. With any luck today it will be slightly better than usual.”

“Or with any ill luck it could be slightly worse,” said Wanda.

“Don’t jinx it,” said the Doctor.

A noise came over a radio on the computer. “Agent Tanner, do you copy?”

“Boss, did you make it?” asked Hillary, leaning into a speaker next to the monitor.

“Yeah, we did fine,” Coulson answered. “Traffic could’ve been a little more cooperative.”

“We are in the parking lot of Murray College, across the campus from the laboratory,” Agent Darrell said. “We will be splitting up here in a moment. Do you copy?”

“Roger that.”

Wanda clicked open a window on one of the computer screens to show a map of the college and vicinity. “They have probably parked here,” she said, hovering over a spot with  
the cursor.

Hillary hushed Wanda as Coulson’s voice came over the radio. “Agent Darrell and Evans are going around the east side of the campus. I am taking the west and looping across the  
street to shake any pursuers. What’s the street name to the west side?”

Hillary turned to look at the map. “Winford Street. There’s a traffic stop right across from the parking lot where you’re at.”

“I see it.”

 

“Winford street, eh?” said Fred. “I know that neighborhood. Let’s go see what they’re up to.” Fred turned to leave.

“Fred, we just got here!” said Pietro.

“You want to stay?” 

Pietro looked back at his sister. She was helping Hillary direct their friend remotely. Now was probably not the ideal time to be in the same room with her. He could see her any old time, he figured. He turned to follow Fred. Fred wanted in on the action and so did he.

The lift doors opened to let someone out as they approached, and then the lift zoomed back down to the ground floor to pick up someone else. Fred and Pietro scooted past them, with Pietro’s arm accidentally going through the person. The person didn’t even notice.

“At Hogwarts, the ghosts are a lot more noticeable,” said Fred as they crossed the lobby. “You stick your hand in one, it’s like ducking into a pitcher of ice water.”

“But how are we different from them?”

“I don’t know, mate.”

Traveling at a steady pace that bypassed the pedestrians and traffic, they went to the location they had seen on the map, Winford Street in Battersea. There was no sign of anyone who looked like a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, so they crossed the street to Murray College, letting several cars rush through them. 

“Why do the cars drive on the wrong side of the street in this country?” he asked when they were across.”

“Beats me. Something weird the local Muggles came up with. Is that our guy?” Fred asked, pointing.

They saw a man hanging around near the corner of a building dressed in a prim suit and tie and with combed-over hair.

“I wouldn’t know.”

“I think it is. I might have seen him earlier, before I came and got you.” They walked up to the man. 

 

Coulson was leaning against the wall of the Finch Engineering Building. Ahead of him loomed the Tangleton Lab, a four-story structure with chimneys on the roof and tinted windows. The main entrance to the building was out of sight. He could see a side door on the ground floor facing him as well as several exhaust vents billowing steam in front of it, hopefully blocking him from the view of anyone across the way. He had already inspected the vents--there was nothing unusual about them, no way he could see of getting through them. But Hydra could be clever, sometimes. 

He held up his hand to his ear and touched the tiny communicator. 

“Agent Darrell, I am on the south side of the building. Where are you?”

“We are on the northeast side behind the greenhouses, over.”

Fred and Pietro nodded at each other. Pietro sped around to the north side of the building. He saw the two agents sulking behind the greenhouses.

“Does anything look suspicious in there?” asked Coulson.

“Not from the outside, sir,” said Agent Evans. 

“See if you can find a way to get in and have a look around.”

“Roger that.” 

Agent Evans found one of the doors to the greenhouses and opened it--it was unlocked.

Coulson, meanwhile, spoke to his friends back at headquarters.

“Doctor, can you tell me again where it was you traced the animal to?”

At the S.H.I.E.L.D. office, Hillary scrolled around the map so the Doctor could see.

“On the northwest side of the Laboratory building,” he said.

“Darrell, I’m going to come around the building to your side, slowly,” said Coulson. “I’ll be watching for anything unusual while I’m at it. You go to the northeast side and I will meet you there.” He started to walk away from his spot against the Engineering building, but he walked along the wall. A few random students came out of the entrance on that side, so he stopped before reaching the doorway and tried to look inconspicuous.

“Tanner, what time is passing period?”

“Not for another forty minutes.”

Coulson looked down the gap between the Engineering building and the side of the lab. Then he walked across the sidewalk to the side of the Terrence Mathematics building. He  
paused between two buttresses on the side of the building and, peering around one of them, scouted the perimeter.

“Evans, what does the greenhouse look like?”

“Green,” she said dourly. “It doesn’t look like Hydra is trying to grow any mutant cabbages in here.”

“Do you see anything out of the ordinary besides the plants?” asked Coulson. “A trapdoor, something under one of the plant beds?”

“No, I don’t see anything,” said Evans. Coulson could hear the sounds of her bending over and trying to move things around.

“Evans, be careful,” said Darrell. “Look above you, are there any security cameras?”

“No, I don’t see any.”

“You should probably get out of there,” said Coulson.

“Roger that, sir. I’ll come out to meet you.”

“Director, I’m in view of the spot that the Doctor mentioned,” said Darrell. Coulson heard rustling leaves--he was hiding in a bush.

“Do you see anything?”

“No. There’s a side entrance to the laboratory, just about ten meters down from the main entrance.”

“Anything that looks like it could be an entrance to a service tunnel? A manhole cover, perhaps?”

“Not that I can tell, sir. The area seems curiously devoid of manholes.”

“Yeah, I don’t see any on this end, either,” said Coulson, sweeping his gaze up and down the alley between the buildings. “No sign of a patrol from Hydra, either. No security  
cams outdoors. They may not be able to afford that much security.”

“What if it’s a trap, Director Coulson?” asked Vision over the radio. “They may already be watching you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Director, I am taking a look at the outside of the greenhouses,” said Agent Evans. “There is a manhole cover close by on this side.”

“Is there anyone close by?”

“Not that I can see, sir.”

“Take a closer look, then. Hillary, are there any entrances to service tunnels shown on the blueprints? Close to the lab building?”

“I’m looking sir,” said Hillary from the computer desk at headquarters. She opened several different blueprints and maps. “It says there’s one here on the far side of the math  
building from you guys, facing the north side.”

“Right. Evans, was there anything you noticed about the manhole?”

“I didn’t see anything, sir.”

“Go check out the service tunnel entrance.”

“Yes, sir.”

Coulson crossed to the back of the laboratory. He examined the two back doors but found nothing unusual. Then he walked up to the north side of the building. He saw Agent  
Evans slinking away behind some shrubbery. He continued to walk along the edge of the wall, wondering how well anyone looking down from the windows could see him there.  
He did do a quick jog to the manhole cover in the middle of the sidewalk. 

“Director Coulson, do you see anything?” the Doctor called over the radio.

“I don’t think so,” said Coulson. He returned to the side of the lab building and walked up to the corner. He could see Agent Darrell hiding behind a bush.

“So that’s the spot, is it?” Coulson said under his breath. It looked like a stretch of ordinary concrete. He stared at it for a minute, wondering how anyone could possibly get  
underground through there.

“Director, I am at the service tunnel entrance,” said Agent Evans. “It’s locked. I don’t see anything unusual in or around it. I’m heading back to join you.”

“That’s fine. I suppose that is as much as we would have expected--” He then noticed something. One of the sidewalk squares had a large crack in it down the middle.  
“Doctor,” said Coulson. “Do you remember anything in particular about the spot where you lost track of the thing from the cage?”

“No, I’m afraid I wasn’t looking down, sir,” said the Doctor. “It was in-between classes when I made it there, I had to run out of the way quickly to avoid getting trampled.”

“Understandable,” said Coulson. He walked across the pavement and nodded for Darrell to join him. The two men met on the broken sidewalk. Coulson rubbed his fingers over the crack, and then over the side. He and Darrell both stopped when they felt part of the straight edge move in response to their touch.

“Did you feel that?” Coulson said.

“I did, sir,” said Darrell.

“Director, Darrell, I’m watching you both from the northwest corner of the building,” said Evans. Coulson looked over his shoulder and saw her wave. “Do you need me to come help you?”

“No, stay where you’re at. Look and see if there’s anyone watching us.”

“I don’t see anyone.”

“Just watch,” he said as he attempted to pry the wobbly sidewalk.

“Concrete doesn’t act like this usually, does it?” Darrell asked him.

“No, it doesn’t,” said Coulson. He stood up, and Darrell followed suit. Coulson walked across the broken fragment--it was motionless. Perfectly ordinary.

“Darrell, you and Evans go north and backtrack to the parking lot. Pick me up on the corner of Durham street.”

“Yes, sir.” 

He and Darrell parted. Darrell ran in the opposite direction, but Coulson walked calmly forward, looking around him as he went. Students were starting to emerge from the main  
entrances of the buildings. He figured he could just blend in with them.

“Boss, did you find anything?” asked Hillary.

“I’ll tell you when I get back--”

He felt a tap on his shoulder. 

The man who had stopped him was a little taller than he was, and had a large head covered with greasy hair. He wore a white lab coat but he looked like he was clutching  
something in an inside pocket. 

“Excuse me, sir,” said the man, giving Coulson a cheesy smile and beaming at him through thick-rimmed glasses. “Are you supposed to be here?”

Coulson threw the man a punch. The man reeled backward and yelped in pain, but he momentarily straightened himself and drew out the thing he was holding inside his coat. Coulson expected to see a gun, but it was a short stub with an electric field coming out of it. He attempted to push it onto Coulson’s skin. Coulson grabbed the man’s arms and threw him to the ground, and before he could pick himself up he’d kicked him several times in the head. Some of the people nearby had noticed the fight and there were a few terrified screams. The man had dropped his mini-electrocutor. Coulson grabbed it and pushed it on to the man’s neck. The man gave a horrible yell and jerked violently as the little machine buzzed and zapped--Coulson nearly dropped it for getting electrocuted himself. But Coulson released the man and he went limp. Coulson turned and ran through the crowd. 

“HEY! YOU!” He glanced behind him to see that the man had gotten up. He was disheveled but angry, and he raised the electrocutor like a torch above him. 

Coulson stopped next to the side of the engineering building. He waited for the man to come after him, and when he arrived Coulson threw him several spectacular kicks and punches and slammed him against the wall. The man didn’t even try using similar tactics back--he was just bent on shocking Coulson. Coulson gave the man several good punches to the stomach until he dropped the electrocutor. Then he threw the man against the side of a dumpster nearby. The back of his head hit the hard metal and he fell unconscious to the ground.

Coulson started running. If there were more people like that after him he didn’t want to waste any more time.

“Boss, can you hear me?” came Hillary’s voice over the radio. “Boss? Do you copy?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine,” said Coulson impatiently.

“What happened?” asked Wanda.

“Some guy tried to attack me with an electric deodorant stick.”

“Sir, are you all right?” Vision inquired. 

“Yes, I’m fine. Darrell, Evans, do you copy?”

“Yes, sir. We are on our way to Durham street,” said Agent Darrell.

“Move over to Winford and pick me up,” said Coulson. “Let’s get the heck out of here.”

 

“Well, that was interesting,” Pietro commented as he and Fred watched Coulson run out of sight.

“Indeed. He can sure fight.”

Pietro had followed Agent Evans to the side of the math building but he wished he had stayed by the lab with Darrell. Fred had followed Coulson. Neither of them had found  
anything unusual either--except for the man in the lab coat.

“Do you know where that bloke came from?” Fred asked.

“I think I saw him coming out of the side door by the main entrance of the lab,” said Pietro. “That’s not a very secret entrance, is it?”

“No, but he may have been watching it the entire time,” said Fred. “You worked for these Hydra people, right?”

“Only in Sokovia. And I was the laboratory experiment. They didn’t exactly show me all the ins and outs of the place I was at--I had to figure it out myself.”

 

“So you don’t know how they’d be operating here?” Hillary asked Wanda.

“Of course not,” Wanda said defensively. “How would I know the secrets of the entire organization while I was strapped to a lab table? I wouldn’t have heard them. Besides, Pietro  
and I were hardly part of Hydra. Strucker did not treat us as equals, more as pets.” She folded her arms.

“I’m just making sure,” said Hillary.

“We mean no offense, Wanda,” said Vision. “We are just trying to see how much we can learn about the organization here in London.”

“The secret entrance, or entrances plural, if there’s more than one,” said Darrell, “were added since S.H.I.E.L.D.’s time. Hydra works on a different playing field, now that they’re not inside of us like a parasite.”

Coulson shuddered. Then he looked up at the Doctor. “But you are certain you can find a way in there?”

“Yes, I can,” the Doctor nodded. “Either with my sonic screwdriver or the powers of one of these two--there is no door we shouldn’t be able to unlock. We can attack tonight.”

“Fair enough, but let’s call the Captain to report what we’ve found.” Coulson pulled out his cell phone to text Maria Hill.

“But if there’s more than one secret entrance shouldn’t we scout it out a little more?” asked Hillary.

“I say we just go for the one we know about,” said Coulson. 

It was nearly four-thirty London time, so it was almost time for lunch back in Corinth. Maria Hill got Steve to get on Skype almost immediately. Sam and Rhodey were with him.

“Any news from Natasha?” asked Coulson once they’d exchanged greetings. 

“Not since you guys left,” said Steve. “Golly, it’s unreal, you guys getting over there so fast. So what’s happening? Did we find anything?”

Coulson told Steve about the suspected secret entrance they had found as well as the surprise attack. He reported that the police had collected the man who attacked him.

“And you’re sure there’s no other sign of some way to get in there?” he asked.

“We’ve checked,” said Agent Darrell. “Of course the Doctor will go over it again with his sonic screwdriver once he gets there tonight. But the plan is to go through the sidewalk.”

“Great, just great,” said Steve, nodding and rubbing his head. “You can go ahead and carry forward the attack. Just be very careful that you don’t damage any of the actual  
classroom buildings--just whatever’s inside the lab. You can total that.”

“We will be careful,” said Wanda.

“You can count on us, sir,” said Vision. 

“So I understand, Doc, that you were looking for something,” Sam spoke up. “Is this going to be a heist or a rescue mission or a what?”

“It will depend on what we find,” said the Doctor. “But, it’s been my experience, when you don’t know what you’re going up against, it can turn into a little of everything, or turn  
out to be nothing at all.” 

“Well, good luck,” said Rhodey.

“Wish we could be there,” said Sam. “Cap here’s driving us up the wall, pacing up and down all day. He needs something to do.”

“We’ll be calling in to Natasha and Mitch tonight,” said Steve. “That’ll be plenty.”

“So what’s the plan, Cap?” Coulson asked.

“Make this a standard take-down op, both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers. The Doctor will go in first with Wanda and Vision. Once they have broken through the secret entrance,  
S.H.I.E.L.D. will follow with an armed detachment to make arrests and seize whatever is in that lab.”

Hillary messaged Steve the blueprint of the lab building with notes they had made on the secret entrance. Steve gave suggestions for how S.H.I.E.L.D. would secure the perimeter and then move into the lab.


	4. The Prisoner of Hydra

The Doctor suggested that they use the T.A.R.D.I.S. to move everyone from the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters to Murray College. Coulson and Darrell agreed, considering that Hydra would be on the lookout for S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles. A backup team would come with an armored van in which to transport prisoners later, but the advance party--Coulson, Hillary, and ten armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agents--would go with Wanda, Vision, and the Doctor. During the short ride everyone just stood at attention in the control room, preparing their weapons and straightening their combat suits.

“Aren’t they all huge Doctor Who fans?” Hillary asked Coulson as she followed him out of the T.A.R.D.I.S. onto the lawn of Murray College near the Tangleton Lab. “I’d have thought they’d be more excited.”

“I think they’re more concerned about the op,” Coulson told her quietly as they walked into the shadow of the lab building. “Under less serious circumstances they would be inclined to show a little more excitement, I think.”

The Doctor had arranged to move the T.A.R.D.I.S. to different locations around the laboratory to drop of the agents into different points for the stakeout. First, however, Coulson and Hillary split up and did a survey of the building. It was midnight. All of the lights were off. There was no sign of activity from inside the building or around it. Even the neighboring structures looked deserted.

“I guess even if someone is watching we’d better go ahead,” Coulson radioed to Hillary. “Doctor, can you hear me?”

“Yes, Director Coulson.”

“Start deploying the troops.”

The blue police box briefly materialized on the other side of the greenhouses, and Coulson could see its outline. It disappeared, but two of the agents from the team came walking around the glass building and split up to their different positions. Each of the agents radioed Coulson a brief message as they appeared into place. Coulson vaguely thought of Apparition in the Harry Potter series. 

“Everyone is out,” said the Doctor after about fifteen minutes. “It’s just me, Wanda, and Vision.”

“Good. Agent Bradford, can you give me eyes on the target location?”

“Target location is clear, sir,” Bradford replied. 

“Let’s hope somebody’s home,” commented Agent Evans.

“There’s the T.A.R.D.I.S.,” Bradford whispered. “Here they come.”

 

The Doctor led the two Avengers onto the sidewalk in front of the Tangleton Laboratory.

Wanda looked up at the dark windows. “There is no one watching us. I cannot feel a single person on the upper floors.”

“But one would think they would be mounting a watch at least sometime during the day or night,” said Vision. “Perhaps they do not think they have been discovered.”

“Well, too bad,” said the Doctor. He knelt down over the crack in the sidewalk and felt along it to the loose end. “Sonic,” he whispered, pointing his sonic screwdriver at the side of the concrete slab. There was a sound between a rip and a click. The Doctor pried his fingers under the concrete and lifted it up, Vision assisting. The concrete stood up on the broken side like a broken piece of wood still attached to the whole, but the sharp sides bucked up rigidly against each other. The slab was supported by a set of collapsible metal supports.

Directly under the concrete was a sheet of black metal. The Doctor tapped this with the sonic screwdriver and the metal slid away with a hiss. The space underneath was wide enough to admit a fit person.

“Down we go, then,” said the Doctor.

“I’ll go first,” said Vision, glancing at Wanda. He jumped into the hole feet first. His cape billowed over the hole and then he landed on the floor, crouching.

“It’s not a huge drop,” Vision whispered. “Only a meter or so.”

He stepped aside. Wanda jumped in next, sitting down and then sliding off the concrete. The floor she hit was more concrete and it hurt her a little to land on her feet. Vision took her hand and then led her out of the way. The ceiling was low and she had to crouch a little. 

The Doctor slid off the sidewalk in much the same way Wanda had, except he hesitated before dropping himself and held himself over the hole by the arms. 

“Wooo!” he gasped as he landed on the ground. He stood up as straight as he could and pointed the sonic screwdriver at the entrance. The metal door slid black into place and  
they heard a thud as the concrete hatch fell on top of it.

“Is there anyone coming for us? Have they detected a security breach?”

Wanda surveyed the underground space with her mind. There were plenty of people there, but none of them were agitated by anything unusual or rushing to attack. “No.”

“Good. The screwdriver should have accounted for that, so it worked. We can keep going.” 

The tunnel was pitch black, but the Doctor used the tip of his sonic screwdriver as a flashlight and Vision and Wanda could both see in the dark. A faint breeze met their faces as  
they moved forward, and the tunnel widened so they could stand up straight.

“There is a guard,” Wanda whispered as loudly as she dared. “At the end of this hallway.”

“He should be guarding the main door of the lab,” said Vision.

“Take him out as quietly as you can,” said the Doctor. “But as soon as we cross the threshold, then the heavy fighting will start. I’ll wait outside while you go in.”

Wanda could feel the overconfidence of the techs and the Hydra agents who worked in the underground lab. They thought that S.H.I.E.L.D. and the rest of the world would have  
forgotten about their laboratory and continued their research without setting extra precautions around the laboratory building, and so they were oblivious to the fact that their experiments were about to be discovered.

The secret tunnel came to an end and opened into the bottom of an unused stairwell. The guard was just beyond it. They stopped at the corner to plan their next move.  
The Doctor and Vision looked at Wanda. This would be her job.

She stepped out from behind the corner. The guard was facing forward, holding a heavy assault rifle, dressed in all black with armor as well as a helmet that sadly obstructed his peripheral vision. Wanda had only to wave her hands once and he collapsed to the ground without a noise.

Vision and the Doctor heard him fall and came to join Wanda. They leaned against the wall next to the doorway to remain out of sight--the laboratory doors had inset windows. Wanda glimpsed briefly people in white lab coats--the sight made her heart stop a little. She had been in a Hydra lab before very much like this one. 

There was a padlock on the far side of the entrance from them. The Doctor crouched and scooted across the floor, and he tapped the padlock with his sonic screwdriver. The screwdriver buzzed several times, but the doors did not open for them.

“Blast, this is probably something you could do, Miss Maximoff.”

Wanda nodded and sent a tendril of red energy at the padlock. A faint line of steam came out it and it squealed like a kettle on the boil, though not very loudly. But then the door  
buzzed loudly and there was a click. Wanda could feel the surprise of some of the lab workers.

 

“Now, go!” the Doctor said.

Wanda used a hex to push the doors inward to admit herself and Vision. Vision struck the first blow, sending a jet of energy from the Mind Gem on his forehead to a bubbling  
flask to the right. Wanda threw her powers at an electical wiring board to the left. The Hydra scientists yelled and ducked for cover under the tables as Vision and Wanda made things explode around them.

Wanda’s first thought was to grab one of the lab technicians and ask them what they were doing. But then someone behind them pulled out a gun from a drawer and opened fire. Wanda whirled around and stopped the bullets with a force field. She went over to the cowering, bald man who had fired and levitated the gun out of his grasp, then melted it so it could not work.

Guards in helmets and armor similar to the guard at the entrance appeared and started to shoot heavy assault rifles. Wanda and Vision used their respective energy powers to block the bullets and destroy the enemy’s weapons. Vision fought with them hand-to-hand, and they succumbed to repeated blows from his vibranium fists. Wanda put one of the guards to sleep and then pinned two others to the ground with force fields.

“Minions of Hydra, you may now surrender!” Vision proclaimed loudly. 

Two of the lab technicians peeled off their coats and came forward to fight Wanda and Vision. The rest stayed under their tables, watching and waiting to make their own move. Vision fought the two techs while Wanda destroyed the weapons of the Hydra scientists as they pulled them out. More came to attack her and Vision, and the ones he didn’t fight she put to sleep or attacked with bits of metal that she manipulated. She caught a few trying to run to the doors, but she sent hexes straight to their backs and they fell over, groaning in pain.

Finally, all of them were subdued, either trapped or sleeping or dead. 

But one of the technicians, a man with thick-rimmed glasses and a high, wrinkly forehead, burst free from under a collapsed table and ran up to a set of doors on the far side of the room. He was going to unlock them and grab whatever was inside. Vision grabbed him by the back of his lab coat and threw him onto the floor. He landed with a moan and Wanda saw blood where his head had hit the ground. 

“That man is Owen Middlestone,” said Wanda.

“I recognized him,” said Vision. They had both seen the picture in the S.H.I.E.L.D. files.

“Whatever it is Hydra is working on is behind those doors,” said Wanda. She walked up to the padlock and used her powers to melt it. Unlike its companion on the outside doors,  
however, the padlock resisted the exertion of Wanda’s power on its internal wiring. “It won’t give.”

“Let us try together,” said Vision.

Wanda gave out a huge burst of energy and Vision sent a jet of light from his forehead to the padlock. There was a smell of burned plastic, and when they had finished the  
padlock had melted into an ugly, fused piece. The acrid smoke made the fire alarm go off. Wanda, however, sensed the emergency sprinklers coming on and sent a hex to power them down.

The secured doors opened for them, but then an emergency alarm went off. Another hex from Wanda, and it was silent.

The room was mostly open except for two semicircular tables placed in the middle facing a round plinth on the far side. The plinth had some kind of an object on it that was illuminated by a bright overhead light. Wanda couldn’t see it, however, since the plinth was surrounded by red lasers.

Vision and Wanda walked forward up to the lasers. Behind the red bars of energy they could see clearly what Hydra was hiding.

“It is an owl,” said Wanda. It must have been the kind called the snowy owl--it was white with black spots over its feathers. It was laying down on its back with its wings outspread, the black beak slightly open, the feathery talons reaching upward.

“Mayhap that is the creature from the cage,” said Vision. “Wanda, can you tell if it is alive?”

“Yes, it is alive, but barely. It has been treated with drugs. Poisons. It was dead but it was somehow brought back to life.” The creature was in some kind of a coma--not dead, but not asleep either. She could sense that the bird was in pain, terrible pain that came from the influence of the drugs. She knew how that felt--she had once been reduced to a similar state, during Baron Strucker’s experiments. And she had felt when Pietro had been in that state, too, too overcome by exposure to the energy from Loki’s sceptre and experimental drugs to remain conscious. 

And there had been times when they had been put to sleep on purpose.

“So how do we free it?”

They stepped away from the lasers guarding the plinth. Wanda walked around the edge, looking at the place where beams came out from the ceiling.

“One blast of energy to the generator should shut it down entirely,” she said. 

Vision looked up where she had pointed, and shot an energy beam at the black power cells that generated the lasers. With a fizzling noise, the lasers flickered and disappeared. 

Wanda stepped across the fallen barrier with Vision. They stood over the owl.

“Do we take him with us?”

“She, it is a she,” said Wanda. The owl’s aura was female. “And yes. Could you find something to carry her in?”

Vision looked around. There was a supply cabinet on the side of the room, and he stepped forward to open it. There was a large plastic bin on one of the shelves. He took it and carried it over to the plinth. Very carefully, Wanda and Vision folded the owl’s wings and placed her in the tub. They then walked out of the room with Vision holding the tub.  
Inside the lab, the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had arrived to arrest the Hydra personnel. After the rough handling by just two of the Avengers they didn’t feel up to putting up another struggle. The Doctor and Coulson were going around the room, examining the damaged equipment. Hillary was studying a vial of clear fluid. Agent Bradford was on one of the computers trying to get it to work so he could upload the files. Agent Evans and Darrell were collecting paper documents from the desks and some cabinets along the walls.

The Doctor looked up when Wanda and Vision emerged. He and Coulson came over to their side.

“There doesn’t appear to be any other signs of Hydra tampering with spacetime, thank goodness. What did we find?” asked the Doctor.

“A half-dead owl,” said Vision.

“Looks more than half-dead if you ask me,” said Coulson.

“I’ll help you carry it out to the T.A.R.D.I.S.. Coulson, you stay in charge here. We will take this back to headquarters.”

“There should be someone on site. Carry on.”

The Doctor, Wanda, and Vision walked out of the lab. The guard who had been protecting the main entrance was there, still lying on the ground. Somehow S.H.I.E.L.D. had walked right by him. But when he saw the threesome walking out he grabbed his gun and tried to get to his feet.

Wanda sent a hex at the guard’s weapon and it flew out of his hands. He yelled in surprise. Vision punched him in the chest with his free hand and the guard fell back to the ground--he could feel that fist even through his chest plate.

“It seems they missed one,” said Vision.

“We’ll bring him with us,” said the Doctor. He picked up the guard by the collar and started to drag him up the tunnel. The three of them went single-file back to the surface,  
Wanda leading, followed by Vision carrying the box with the owl, and after them the Doctor, who was carrying the guard. The guard was wide awake but too dazed and confused to resist them.

The Doctor had opened the secret entrance to admit S.H.I.E.L.D., and S.H.I.E.L.D. had left it open. Wanda jumped and lifted herself up out of the hole. Vision carefully handed up the box to her. Wanda could only be sure that the owl wasn’t dead by feeling her mind, she was so still. Wanda set the box to one side and Vision floated upward.

“All right, let’s get this skinny pickle-sucker up to the fresh air,” said the Doctor. He stood the guard up on his feet. Wanda levitated the guard up to the surface but deposited him none too gently on the sidewalk. He rolled over with a grunt, his helmet falling off.

Vision and Wanda both leaned over the hole to help the Doctor climb out of it. The moment he was out, he walked across the concrete to the guard. The guard was a young man a few years older than Wanda. He had small, mousy eyes and curly brown hair that had been combed rigidly flat to his head. 

The Doctor picked up the guard by the collar of his uniform. “Now how did a nice young man like you get mixed up with Hydra?”

“That’s a good question,” said the man, panicking. “Don’t blame me. S.H.I.E.L.D. laid me off. Hydra offered double pay to anyone who’d keep working for them.”

“Well, you must not have two brains to rub together if your wits only operate on money. Do you know who I am, boy?” The Doctor leaned his face close to the man’s.

“It’s dark, I can’t see.” His accent made him sound whinier than he actually was.

“Do you know who I am?”

The man paused, examining the Doctor’s face. Then his eyes widened in realization. And then he fainted. The Doctor dropped him.

“Wanda, do you levitate unconscious people from one place to another?” 

“If that would be any easier than waiting for Coulson to pick him up.”

“Coulson will be a while yet, I am afraid,” said Vision.

Wanda lifted the man into the air so that he was lying suspended on his back. She then manipulated him to drift across the sidewalk to the place behind the bushes where the  
T.A.R.D.I.S. was waiting.

 

“I wish we could have gone down there to see what happened,” said Fred as he and Pietro watched the T.A.R.D.I.S. vanish. 

“There is still too much evil down there,” said Pietro. “I wish S.H.I.E.L.D. would not stay down there. They don’t have to gather every scrap of evidence.”

“Yeah, I hear ya,” said Fred. “I wonder what was in the box, though.” 

 

A short ride on the T.A.R.D.I.S. later, they were back at the British S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Wanda floated their captive up the emergency stairs. The Doctor took the guard to Agent Darrell’s suite but he instructed Wanda and Vision to go directly to the laboratory two floors above. The lights were on and there were two S.H.I.E.L.D. lab techs waiting up for the takeout party to return.

“You didn’t radio ahead,” the blonde Agent Kellor rebuked them.

“I am very sorry we did not think of that,” said Vision. He placed the plastic bin in Agent Kellor’s hands. “But this is what we’ve found. We think Hydra was experimenting on her. Can you save her?”

“It’s a she?” asked Agent Grayson, peering over Kellor’s shoulder for a closer look.

“Yes, the owl is female,” said Wanda. “What can you do for her?”

“Well, we can at least find out what Hydra was doing to her,” said Agent Kellor.

Kellor and Grayson pulled on plastic gloves and removed the owl from the bin, placing her on the work table in the center of the room. They started to examine her. Vision and  
Wanda watched them, and Vision occasionally glanced at Wanda, wondering if she was all right. She was nervous for the owl--the creature was innocent and had been harmed by  
very evil people.

“It seems the owl is alive,” said Agent Kellor. “She is in an induced coma. Her heart and brain are still working, it seems, but just barely.”

“Is there a chance she can recover?” asked Wanda.

“Of course,” said Grayson. “But first we need to figure out just what drugs Hydra has been treating her with. I suspect the T96 serum is involved, but we’ll see.”

There was a noise of radio static from a stand on the side of the room. “Agents Kellor, Grayson, do you copy?” It was Hillary Tanner.

Agent Grayson went across the room and pressed a button. “Yes, we copy,” said Grayson, speaking into the radio. “Wanda Maximoff and the Vision have arrived. They brought with them an owl that had been experimented on by Hydra.”

There was a pause. Then the radio cracked. “Coulson says he needs you to bring the van for evidence collection. Over.”

“Roger that,” said Grayson. He stepped away from the radio and pulled off his gloves. “I suppose the owl won’t die if we leave her like this for right now. She’ll be fine.” He and  
Kellor left the room. Wanda and Vision followed after them, and Kellor locked the door but left the light on. Through the window they could still see the owl lying on the  
operating table.

Wanda could have easily unlocked the door but she decided it could wait--better to leave this to the professionals.

There were some open tables in the work space in the center of the hallway. She and Vision sat down at one of these. And they waited.

The Doctor radioed them half an hour later. “Vision, Wanda, are you still there?”

“Yes, we are here,” said Wanda, clutching the tiny bud in her ear. “They have the owl in the lab. They say she will be all right.”

“Well, enough about the owl, Director Coulson has just arrived with some of the evidence from the lab. They’re coming up. Meet me at Darrell’s office.”

Wand and Vision wasted no time in going downstairs to meet the Doctor. Director Coulson was coming up the stairs through the emergency door, and Hillary Tanner was right  
behind him, still dressed in her combat suit. They were both carrying heavy boxes.

“Anything we can help with, Director?” asked Vision.

“Just go to the van and get more of these boxes. We’re taking them to the second floor elevator. I’ll unlock it.”

“No need for that, sir,” said the Doctor. “I have--”

“Yeah, yeah, the Sonic Screwdriver. You can go meet us there if you like.”

The Doctor ran outside and came back with a smaller box. He dashed up the stairs ahead of Tanner and Coulson. Outside at the S.H.I.E.L.D. van, Kellor and Grayson were handing  
out boxes and bags of collected evidence. Wanda and Vision were each handed burdens and they walked away back to the emergency entrance with the door propped open by Agent Bradford. 

“What did they give you?” Vision asked.

Wanda looked down. Her box was open. “Papers. It is rather heavy.”

“Would you like to switch?”

“No, I’m fine,” she grunted. “It is good exercise.” She could already feel herself working up a sweat--the sweat from her fight earlier had barely faded. “But what do you have?”

Vision was carrying a closed cardboard box. While he was being careful otherwise, he shook it so Wanda could hear the broken glass inside.

“Just some...things, I think,” said Vision.

Wanda laughed.

The procession of S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel carrying evidence boxes had reached the second floor and were gathered around the lift. The Doctor tapped the up-down buttons with his sonic screwdriver and the lights came back on. Coulson pressed the up arrow and the lift came humming down to meet them. There was room for only a few of them on board with the boxes they were carrying taking up most of the space.

“We won’t be long,” Coulson said as the grilles shut. It was him, Wanda, Hillary, the Doctor, Agent Evans, and a staff member named Clarke.

“And we’ve still got more stuff to collect back at the lab, don’t we?” asked Clarke sleepily.

“Yes, we might have to make a few trips over there. But when that lab is empty we can sleep,” said Coulson.

“Where are the prisoners being taken?” asked Wanda.

“Battersea Police have them in custody. We’ll start the interrogations tomorrow.”

“Oh, and that reminds me,” said the Doctor. “We brought one back with us. He’s in Darrell’s office.”

“We’ll take a look.”

They got off the elevator and dropped off their burdens behind the reception desk. Agent Clarke went back down to get some more. But the Doctor led Hillary and Coulson to Darrell’s office. Wanda and Vision followed. He unlocked the door with a tap of his sonic screwdriver.

The prisoner was tied to one of the chairs in front of the desk and he was facing the door.

Coulson knew this person.

“Tim Collins!”

“Hello there, Coulson,” said the man in a low, irritated voice. “I hear you’re the Director now.”

Coulson swore. “I should have known you weren’t really working for the British Secret Service.”

“Course not. But you still believed it.”

“You know Emily Bridger had a crush on you?”

“She did, yeah. But it’s not my bloomin’ fault she had bad taste. And I heard about what happened to your precious Jedi, so that’s not your problem any more.” Collins let out a  
few swearwords of his own. He then looked up at Hillary. “Oh. Agent Tanner. Are you working for--”

Hillary stepped forward and smacked Collins hard on the cheek. “That’s for joining Hydra, you filthy scum!” 

Collins swore some more. “Calm down. Since when did me joining Hydra hurt you? You’ve only just found out.”

“You hung out with us! We went through S.H.I.E.L.D. school together! Do you know how many of us are left? And you were part of Hydra all along!”

“It wasn’t me! It was Agent Thomas.”

“Agent Thomas is dead!”

“It just so happens that a lot of people we know are dead, Tanner. I’m just as upset about it as you are. Why the (expletive) do you think we’re having this conversation?”

Hillary lunged forward. Wanda grabbed her arms. Vision took a hold of Hillary as well.

“I think that’s enough for right now, Tanner,” said Coulson. “Why don’t you sit down and take a few deep breaths?”

Hillary was struggling against Wanda and Vision. They let go of her at a nod from Coulson. “I think we’ll leave our friend here until the lab has been emptied. Doctor, if you would be so kind as to keep an eye on him--but release him from his bonds. Let him stretch. Get a drink of water. He probably has to pee really bad right now.”

The Doctor bent down and untied the ropes. But Collins stood up, heaving the slack ropes off him angrily.

“I don’t owe you anything, Coulson,” snapped Collins. The Doctor grabbed Collins by the arm and led him to the bathroom. Hillary was just leaving it, but when she saw Collins she threw her nose in the air and pretended not to notice.

“Why is she so upset?” Vision asked Wanda.

“Because the Enhanced who murdered Grace Porter was also a friend of hers.” 

They stood next to Hillary in the elevator, and she just rubbed her hands over her face. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take.

It only took three car loads from the laboratory building in Battersea to empty the lab of the larger pieces of evidence. S.H.I.E.L.D. corded off the underground lab from both its hidden and former official entrances. A few people who hadn’t gone on the night raid were called up to stand guard with the local police. Everyone else went home for some shuteye. It was four in the morning.

Agent Darrell had an upstairs lounge in the British S.H.I.E.L.D. office with two hide-a-bed couches. Coulson, Vision, and the Doctor shared one while Wanda and Hillary took the other. It wasn’t terribly comfortable and they only had thin sheets for bedding, but with some of the couch pillows they were quite comfortable.

“And what about me?” asked Collins, who had been dragged into the lounge by the Doctor. “I see you’re all too lazy to take me to jail. Do I sleep standing up?”

“Take some of the cushions and make yourself a bed,” said Coulson. “And stop whining. Another peep out of you and I will taze you.”

The Doctor turned the lights out remotely, but the sky outside was just beginning to turn gray. 

“I wonder if they sell diet coke in Britain,” Hillary muttered before rolling over and falling asleep. Everyone else was snoozing within minutes, even their prisoner. But Wanda reached out her mind to the owl. The owl did not even respond--she was still unconscious, still unable to sense the world around her.

The owl had no idea she was free.


	5. Out of the Dark

They got to sleep in until about nine. After they had straightened themselves up Darrell took them out for breakfast, leaving Tim under Vision’s watch. They brought him back their leftovers. Hillary still refused to look at him, and the entire time they were at breakfast Wanda could feel her bristling with anger.

They returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. office and went to the laboratory. The space outside of the lab was cluttered with collected evidence from Hydra’s hideout, but Coulson had ordered the laboratory space to remain clear. Wanda and the Doctor had told Coulson about the owl over breakfast and he wanted to see her for himself. Grayson and Kellor had been running tests since their arrival that morning, but the owl was lying on the exam table as still and deathlike as ever. Coulson stood over the owl with his hands folded behind his back. Hillary stood behind him while Wanda and Vision watched from the back of the room.

“What can you tell me?” he asked the lab techs. 

“It’s a female, about ten years old. We suspect she’s lived most of her life in captivity,” said Kellor.

“How long was she with Hydra?”

“About four years, sir,” said Grayson, looking at a computer. “Hydra knew her as Subject C. Apparently she was discovered dead in a forest in Surrey. They used the T96 serum to revive her, and then they subjected her to a series of experiments, mostly to test the effectiveness of the T96. In fact, most recently they were trying to use samples of the owl’s tissues to create more T96.”

Coulson sighed heavily. “And when they found the owl, was she in a cage?”

“That is not known, sir.” 

“Did you take a DNA sample?”

“No.” 

“Do it.” Coulson paced away from the prostrate owl across the room. “So what can be done to save her?”

“Sir, she’s pretty far gone. It might be easier to put her to sleep.”

“No. We’re saving her. Do you know of any veterinary specialists who might be able to help?”

“There’s Doctor Daniels, sir,” said Agent Kellor. “He’s worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. on several occasions, mostly animal experimentation. He’s the right man for this job, if I do say myself.”

Coulson nodded. “Very well. Call him in. Do what you can for the owl in the meantime.” 

Agents Kellor and Grayson set to work. Wanda and Vision stayed and watched while Coulson and Hillary left to do the interrogations. Kellor got out an IV and used it to drain a cleansing solution into the owl’s blood. “But I’m afraid there’s nothing we can do for the T96,” Kellor explained sadly as Grayson worked. “That stuff gets bound into the system--the muscles, organs, everything.” 

Grayson took one of the owl’s down feathers to run the DNA test. Kellor started going through the boxes outside the room to test the chemicals that Hydra had been creating and mixing. Some of them, she said, matched the drugs she had found when she’d run a blood test on the owl earlier.

“What did this poor creature go through?” Wanda asked Vision quietly when they were watching through the window outside the door.

“I do not deign to imagine it,” said Vision. “Hydra’s cruelty surpasses few--even to its own volunteers.”

Wanda knew that for a fact but didn’t argue.

 

The first Hydra prisoner that Coulson and Hillary interrogated was Timothy Collins. Considering the anger that Hillary had expressed towards him, this morning she was much more restrained.

Collins confessed that he had been recruited by Hydra not long after finishing S.H.I.E.L.D. school by the Agent Thomas, who had preceded Agent Darrell as the director of the British headquarters. After S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen, Hydra had saved him from being exposed and his orders had been to continue working for S.H.I.E.L.D.. But then Maria Hill, in her brief stint as Director last summer, had laid him off.

“Doctor Middlestone needed help keeping the lab going,” said Collins. “He offered me twice the salary that I had been making from S.H.I.E.L.D.. All I had to do was to apply to the British Secret Service and Hydra would make it look like I had been accepted.”

“What was Doctor Middlestone doing at the lab?”

“I don’t (expletive) know, he didn’t tell me (expletive) anything! The (expletive) just needed me to stand guard all the time. They never let me into the lab to work on any of their secret projects.”

“Did you know about the owl?” asked Hillary.

“What owl? All I know is they were trying to produce drugs and chemicals that they no longer had access too after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell--no thanks to freaking Captain America.”

“They had a snowy owl living in that underground lab for four years undergoing rigorous tests.”

“I was only working there for one,” Collins answered. “I do know they were using mice and rats. I saw someone bring in a rabbit once. Nobody told me about an owl.”

Hillary looked at Coulson. Coulson shrugged. They wouldn’t get any further on this point.

“So how about Jamie Sneld? She’s another old friend of ours. We know she’s working for Hydra. Have you seen her since S.H.I.E.L.D. fell?”

“No. But I’ve heard about her. They’ve given her a codename--the Spectre. She’s powerful, twice as powerful as she ever was when she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D.. Her illusions are  
almost real--but that’s just what people are saying. I hear rumors, sometimes. I’m not totally in the dark. But no, I haven’t seen her.”

Coulson sighed. He looked at Collins. “You know, Tim, we’ve really missed you at S.H.I.E.L.D.. Emily missed you.”

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” said Tim. “She did tell me, once, that one time she came to England after the Convergence...well, I knew how she felt about me. You can just tell what a girl’s thinking, sometimes. But she did ask me on a date. I said no. I told her it was because I felt like we weren’t compatible, and you know, to a point, I was right. But imagine--a bloke like me, going out with a Jedi? I didn’t deserve her.”

“You’re right, she didn’t,” said Hillary.

“I was sorry, to hear that she had passed,” said Collins. “Hydra told us there had been an accident.”

“It was more than an accident, Collins,” said Coulson. “Some friends of ours from Asgard came to ask for Emily’s help. She went with them. For all we know, she could still be  
there. She could be anywhere in the cosmos. She’s not dead, just...missing.” He had to bite his lip from adding ‘Forever.’

“Well, if they’re some other guy in the universe who deserves her more than me, she can have him,” said Collins. 

Collins did give them a little information about how Hydra had built and secured the lab after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. Then Coulson had him taken out to Battersea.

Coulson thought Hillary was glad to see the last of him, but as Collins got into the police van to be taken away Hillary was watching him like she wasn’t sure.

 

Dr. Frederick Daniels arrived that afternoon. He examined the owl and decided he would take her to his animal hospital in Greenwich for a CT scan. He had the owl placed in a pet carrier and sat her in the front seat of his car. Coulson sat in the back, and Hillary and Wanda, whom he wanted to accompany him, sat with him. Coulson left Agent Darrell and his staff to take care of interrogating Hydra’s laboratory staff in Battersea.

Dr. Daniels and his assistants made Wanda, Coulson, and Hillary watch through a window while they examined the bird and ran her through the CT machine. They wore hospital gowns, gloves, and masks. Neither of the girls said anything while they watched the test, and Coulson didn’t feel very much like talking, either. When they were finished, the assistants carefully put the owl back in her carrier while Dr. Daniels went over the test results on a computer with Coulson. The owl’s body was damaged from lack of nourishment and from the effects of Hydra’s drugs, but she wasn’t past saving. If they could revive her, there was a decent chance she could live a healthy and happy life. 

“Snowy owls in the wild normally don’t live more than a decade, so this one was used to a life in captivity. She’s twelve years old already, but she doesn’t show any signs of having aged much more than another year since Hydra captured her. They kept her body in some kind of a stasis. I’ve never seen the likes of it.”

“I’ve heard of the likes of it,” said Coulson darkly.

“But anyway, if she wakes up, she could probably have another three to five years of a good life, if you let her. She seems like a very resilient animal.”

They left the animal hospital with the bird back in the carrier and the scans on a flash drive.

Back at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s laboratory, Dr. Daniels reattached the bird’s IV. He gave the owl medicines through the IV as well as through various injections to start her heart and other organs to function normally again. He also gave her numerous vitamins and nutritional supplements and treated her for dehydration. The owl was set on the far side of the room inside a metal cage and laid to rest on a set of towels.

“And now all we have to do is wait,” Dr. Daniels said quietly as he put away his empty syringes into a briefcase. “It should take a while to start showing any effects. In a few hours she might be showing reflex movements--twinge of the wing, contraction of the talons, that sort of thing. She’ll go from unconsciousness to a state of sleep next. And tomorrow she should wake up--but feel free to call me back if she doesn’t show any signs of life before then.”

“Thank you so much, Doctor,” said Coulson, shaking his hand. “Agent Darrell said you really were marvelous. S.H.I.E.L.D. will have compensation for you in about a week’s time.”  
“S.H.I.E.L.D. can foot the bill for the CT scan, but other than that I don’t want any more compensation. Such a magnificent bird. It was an honor to treat her.” He glanced over his shoulder at the snowy owl. “Just let me know how she does.” 

The veterinarian left, and Coulson went to tell the Doctor about the owl’s prognosis. Agents Kellor and Grayson were working on a different project, so that left Hillary and Wanda to watch the owl. And Wanda could feel the owl’s body responding to the treatments, but only slowly. Hydra had kept the creature barely alive. 

Had she forgotten, already, what it felt to be one of Hydra’s test subjects?

If she had known who Baron Strucker had really worked for, would she and Pietro still have volunteered? Would she even be here, watching this unconscious owl slowly return to  
life? Would Ultron or the great chaos in Sokovia have ever happened? And would Pietro still be--no, she couldn’t let herself think of that.

She tried to look over Hillary’s mind to see what she was thinking. All she could tell was that she was confused.

Confused by the owl.

 

Coulson returned to the laboratory. When they heard him enter, Hillary and Wanda both looked up. Hillary walked across the room to him quickly. “Boss, can we talk?” she asked.

“Sure.” Coulson held the door open for her uncertainly.

They stepped out into the hallway. Evidently Hillary did not want to be overheard, because she went into an empty office next to the lab.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s this bird,” said Hillary. “Have you considered...who this owl might really be?”

“I have,” Coulson said. In truth, he had not let the thought do more than cross his mind.

“What do you think happened?” Hillary asked. “I mean, the Doctor said it was a rip in time that got her to land in a time about a decade later. What were the odds that someone  
from Hydra was in the same spot, just waiting for a dead owl to drop out of the sky? It’s as if they were waiting.”

“I don’t know all the answers,” said Coulson. “They might not come easily. The Doctor has tried to explain to me how these things work. Evidently it could have been an  
accident. But as for Hydra, I’m not sure how they found her. And frankly I don’t want to find out how.”

“So we have to put that behind us?”

“That’s probably easier.”

“Okay. But what about going forward? We’re talking about one of the most terrible deaths in the Harry Potter series. She...I don’t know if she would have really cared, to come  
back to life.” She was avoiding saying the name. “I don’t think Harry would have wanted it. Not for her or for anyone else he knew that passed away.”

“Well, Harry came back all right.”

“Well, that was because he had the option. Hedwig didn’t have the option...or at least she shouldn’t have. But, Boss, just consider the implications of this.”

“I am considering the implications. And I’m not so much worried about Harry Potter’s response as Captain America’s.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t want to come back to life, did you?”

“No. I was perfectly fine with dying. I guess somebody else wasn’t.”

“I see what you’re getting at. Hydra doesn’t care about life or death, do they? Just controlling it. But...as far as you being someone who’s died and been brought back against their own will, how do you feel about this? I suppose that’s the opinion that matters right now--we can worry about Cap later.”

“I think if Hedwig can come back to life, we should give her the chance. We’ll see how it goes.”

“Well, just remember what the Doctor said.”

“I know, I know. Emily Bridger was the same sort of case, and she did just fine.”

“But this is--”

“I think it’s not that different. Wizarding owls are a little more, well, intelligent. At least that’s the impression I got from reading the books.”

Hillary folded her arms and sighed. “But just what were the odds that Hydra found the cage with Hedwig still inside of it?”

“I think it’s her,” said Coulson. “I think there are larger forces at work here. They found Bucky, didn’t they?”

“Well, Bucky was ten times as screwed over as anything they did to this owl we just rescued. It’s just luck that the right people found either of them.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in coincidences.”

“Whatever. But I’m just saying. We should be careful.” 

 

From the moment she had met him, Wanda had distrusted Phil Coulson.

Coulson returned to the lab alone and walked up next to Wanda to observe the owl in its cage. There wasn’t much to see--the bird had been set in a nesting position on her breast but was making no movements.

“Where is Hillary?” Wanda asked.

“I sent her to give a report to Captain Rogers about the Hydra lab.” He did not say that he was not going to tell Steve about the owl. Wanda could tell from reading his mind that  
he still had some issues to work out about the owl. He and Hillary had just had a discussion on the subject that had left his mind reeling.

“So Agent Grayson finished the DNA test,” said Coulson, in an effort to make conversation. “We’ve compared it with the samples found in the cage. It’s a match.” 

Wanda didn’t have a response to this, so he fell silent.

After waiting in silence for a few moments, Wanda decided it was no good to wait for a better moment for a confrontation.

“Mr. Coulson.”

“Yes?”

“You were dead. How did you come back to life?”

He sighed heavily. He had anticipated the question but now really wasn’t when he wanted to answer. “That’s not easy to explain.”

“Just tell me. Is it something to do with this bird?”

“Yes, it is. It’s everything to do with this bird.” He gazed down at the owl sadly. “Hydra invented a serum that was supposed to recreate the effects of the one that was used to create Captain America. It’s called T96. T96 is supposed to specifically affect the longevity of the subject. The owl you see here is Subject C. I was Subject D. Apparently T96 can not only save people who are about to die, but it can bring back people who have already died--the consciousness, the personality, the soul, whatever it is.”

“Steve told us what the T96 was,” said Wanda. “He told us they used it on his friend.”

“Yeah. There’s a strong chance that Bucky Barnes was either Subject A or B.”

Wanda furrowed her brows at the owl. “Steve told us everything about him. He wanted us to hate Hydra for what they had done to his friend. As much as he did.”

“And do you?”

“No. I’m not Steve.” 

“So from what I’m reading, they found the owl about a year before the Battle of New York. So if they used the owl to prove that the T96 could successfully bring animals back to life, animals that had died a matter of days earlier, then it could be tested on humans...successfully.” Coulson looked at Wanda sympathetically--he wanted her to understand that it wasn’t his fault, that it hadn’t been his choice. “You know that until about a year and a half ago that Hydra was working within S.H.I.E.L.D.. I was the perfect test subject. Hydra knew that Nick Fury was sore about losing me. He would be glad to get me back, provided I was kept hidden from the Avengers, and he’d have a good reason to cooperate. They told Fury that I still had a faint heartbeat several days after the battle, and since I’d only had a punctured lung that it wasn’t surprising that I still lived. But the truth was, I was gone--completely gone.” Regret shone in Coulson’s eyes, longing for the paradise he had seen but never been completely part of. “But Fury didn’t bother to double-check. All he knew was that S.H.I.E.L.D. had access to a miracle drug that could bring me back the rest of the way. He knew I could still be useful. So he gave permission.”

“You don’t seem too unhappy about it.”

“I was, actually, at first. But I learned to be happy. I found a reason to live.” It was that Emily Bridger girl that he’d trained, though he didn’t say it. “But I never thought I’d be in  
this position.”

“What are you going to do? Certainly, if the owl was dead--”

“I’ve talked to Dr. Daniels about it. The side effects and risks of her living after exposure to what Hydra put her through are substantial. But there’s also a good chance this owl could live a happy life.”

“She is just an owl.”

“This is no ordinary owl.” Wanda could read his mind to see the reasoning behind it, but he didn’t say anything that would explain what he was thinking.

“We’re going to wait and see how she is when she wakes up. But I’m going to hope that she’s happy. And we’ll let her live.”

“Coulson,” said Wanda. “About the T96. It was you and Emily Bridger, last year, who discovered the T96 and what it had done to you. Steve told us.”

“What did he tell you?” Coulson and Wanda turned to face each other.

“He told us that you both destroyed the entire stockpile of T96 that was found in a Canadian Hydra base last year. Well, all of it, except for--” She broke off, looking at the owl.

“Doctor Middlestone was trying to recreate the T96 from her tissue samples,” said Coulson. “But no, we broke in right when they were in the middle of trying to synthesize it. At  
least that’s what the initial reports show. But I’ll bet we can wrangle a confession.” Coulson broke off. He looked at Wanda. “Look, I know what you’re wanting to ask me. There  
is no way that any of it could be used to bring back your brother. I’m sorry.”

“Is that all you can say?”

“Captain Rogers would never approve of S.H.I.E.L.D. reproducing it, or a drug similar to it. It was my impression that he wanted to leave your brother where he was.”

She already knew that. She looked away from Coulson, trying to blink away the tears.

“And you...you destroyed it…”

“The stuff’s actually highly flammable. I’m surprised I don’t turn into a ball of flame on a summer’s day. But yes, Emily Bridger and I destroyed it. Even she didn’t think it was a  
good idea at first. But I never wanted to see another person cruelly taken back from the dead the way I was. Apparently I was too late.” Too late to save the owl.

“It’s not a clear-cut issue, I know,” said Coulson. “The world used to think that death was the end, that it was just it. Now Hydra’s gone and broken all of the rules, even in other  
dimensions. You know how Steve feels about this--he wanted to die, when he crashed the Valkyrie in 1945. But, a wizard in another famous fantasy saga once said that many people die who deserve life, and many who live really would do the world a favor if they died. It takes a lot of wisdom to know the difference. And it takes courage, too, to accept what can and what can’t be. But you can’t just take away life when it’s already been given, even wrongfully. That’s still murder. Life is...it’s a good thing. And so is death, in a sense. But it’s not up to us to make the call, about who lives and who dies. What Hydra is doing--has done--is immoral. We shouldn’t go to their level. I don’t know what to say to you, Wanda. I know you’ve really been hurting. As unfair as it is for this bird to have come back to life, maybe now that she’s free she can actually live. I wish there was more I could do for you.”

“I do not think you can do anything for me,” said Wanda. She turned and left the laboratory. 

In the hall space outside the lab there was a couch. Wanda sat down on it and cried.

Coulson didn’t understand at all. Pietro had been Wanda’s last link to home and family. She had found a new life since then, but there were days like today when she just felt like she was going through the motions. Why did total strangers like Coulson get to come back from the dead when Pietro could not live? Why did this owl have the right to live and Pietro didn’t? It wasn’t fair.

Vision appeared in the hallway. He came down and sat next to her. He let Wanda hug him and cry on his shoulder.

“I know what you’re feeling,” he said to her. “You’ve had to carry it in you for the last six months. It is not an easy burden to bear. It’s all right.”

Wanda backed away from him. “It isn’t fair. Coulson said that nothing can be done for my brother and yet the owl can stay alive?”

“But Wanda, don’t you see what life truly is about?” Vision said to her, taking her by the wrist. Wanda wanted to snatch it away but she didn’t. “When a creature lives, it has potential to do good in the world, to make it a more beautiful and wonderful place. You can’t just see only the bad things a person does or that happens to them and want to kill them to end that bad--you have to live and let live. You must see the good. Believe in it. Trust me. Why do you think you and your brother and I joined the Avengers? Because Ultron saw only the bad. He was consumed by it, and he could not accept it. He wanted to destroy all of life, and not only the bad but also the good. But we know better than to let that happen to us. Come here.” He hugged Wanda again.

 

“So it’s all real,” Hillary said as she looked at the owl lying in the cage. She looked up at the Doctor, who was standing next to her. “Have you been there?”

“It was a couple of regenerations ago, last I visited,” said the Doctor. “I haven’t met anyone pertaining to the Potter saga except Dumbledore and McGonagall. And George Weasley--I’ve been to his shop a few times. For odds and ends. We keep in touch.”

“So who told J.K. Rowling about it? Was it you?”

The Doctor smiled. “Some people think I did. But no, Ms. Rowling discovered much of it for herself. I’ve met her, too, on a number of occasions. She doesn’t know who I am, but  
I have signed copies of the whole series. She signed them ‘To John Smith.’”

“Wow. I mean, you’re the Doctor, so you probably can get whatever you want. But still, that’s impressive, all seven books signed.”

“I wish I could get everything I want,” said the Doctor. “But having a time machine and a sonic screwdriver doesn’t make it that easy. But does it surprise you, that every fantasy  
world you’ve ever heard of could be real?”

“Well…” Hillary really didn’t know how to say what she felt. “I mean, you always hope in some sense that it’s real, but at the same time you have to accept that it isn’t, that you  
actually can’t feel and touch anything from there. But…” She looked down at the owl and shook her head. 

“I thought you believed in the existence of worlds without end?”

“Well, not in this sense. And, I’ve seen a lot of trippy stuff in my time working for S.H.I.E.L.D.. And I thought meeting you and getting to ride on the T.A.R.D.I.S. was about as good  
as it got. I guess I was wrong.”

“You’ve only scratched the surface.”

“I probably have,” said Hillary. “So if I went to King’s Cross station and walked between Platforms nine and ten--”

“You wouldn’t get anywhere,” said the Doctor. “The Wizarding World exists in an alternate dimension from yours, I’m afraid. You’d either have to be a Time Lord or someone with  
powers that can manipulate spacetime to do that.”

Hillary nodded. “I guess so. Last I checked I was a Muggle. You know, I actually need to get back to work. But it’s been fun talking to you.” Hillary turned and left the lab.

The Doctor kept watch over the owl for a few moments. Director Coulson came and found him and asked if he would be willing to talk to Agent Darrell for a few moments.  
It was while the Doctor was gone that the owl turned on her side. One of her feathery feet stretched and flexed the deadly black talons.


	6. The Owl Who Returned

At intervals during the late afternoon and through the evening, Wanda, Coulson, Hillary, Vision, or the Doctor were taking turns observing the owl, waiting for the moment when she would wake up. They were either alone or with one of the others. Coulson and Hillary watched because they had a hunch of where the owl came from. The other three wanted to make sure that the owl was making progress in her recovery. At times the owl would display movement, like stretching a wing or her beak, or clawing at the air with her talons as she rolled over.

“Look, she is breathing,” said Wanda when she and Vision came to check on the bird before departing to their hotel that night. They watched the steady rise and fall of the owl’s body in wonder. 

“Do you sense her mind?” asked Vision.

“Yes. But...she is not aware of her surroundings yet. She’s just closed herself off to feeling everything else for now. I never knew that an animal could have such strong emotions. So like a human.”

“Humans and animals have more in common than they realize,” said Vision. “It is learning to recognize those similarities that makes them good companions for each other, I think. But it is being an animal, though, that makes an animal truly amazing.”

When they returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. office the next morning, Coulson and Hillary immediately left to go help with the interrogations. But Wanda and Vision were not needed, and so they continued their vigil over the owl. The owl was still breathing--she was sleeping, peacefully. Whether or not she was dreaming Wanda could not tell.

At two thirty-two in the afternoon, the owl’s eyes opened. They were a dark yellow with jet-black pupils, and round. The first thing the owl saw was Wanda and Vision standing beyond the bars of her cage, watching intently.

The owl gave a screech and sat up. She stood up and flapped her wings noisily against the cage bars, nearly dislodging her IV in the process, continuing to screech. Vision and   
Wanda stepped back.

“Is she frightened?” asked Vision.

“Yes--and angry,” said Wanda.

Agent Kellor was in the room and she walked over to the cage. The owl was biting the bars with her beak as if she could chew her way out. Kellor grabbed her around the middle   
and the owl immediately plunged her beak onto Kellor’s hand. Kellor winced but held on tightly while she inserted a syringe into the owl’s side. The owl calmed down   
immediately.

“I think we should tell Coulson,” said Wanda.

“I think we should, too,” said Vision. “Do you have his cell phone number? Or Hillary’s?”

“No.” She turned to Agent Kellor. “Who did Agent Darrell leave in charge?”

“I think it’s Agent Evans. She should be in her office.”

Wanda left the room immediately to find Agent Evans. Evans came back with her to the lab. The owl had come around but was backed into the corner of the cage, eyeing Vision   
and Kellor suspiciously. She hissed and snapped her beak when Wanda approached.

“Well, that’s wonderful to see,” said Agent Evans, “but I am afraid Director Coulson did not intend to return until later today.”

“You could at least send him a text, couldn’t you?”

“I’ll call Agent Darrell and tell him to let Coulson know, all right?” Evans did not wait for a response but returned to her office.

Vision and Wanda waited in the lab, continuing to observe the owl. The Doctor came and joined them at one point--he had business elsewhere in London, he said, but he wanted   
to see how the owl was doing. He stuck his finger in the cage and the owl immediately came forward to bite it. He jumped back, swearing. The Doctor didn’t stay around much longer.

 

The two Avengers stayed with the owl all day. Now that she was awake, Wanda could read her mind. Wanda could see that she was no ordinary owl--Coulson had been right about that much. She was used to having contact with humans. But of course, considering her recent circumstances, it was understandable that the owl would feel unsafe around Wanda and Agent Kellor and Grayson and anyone else who came to the lab. Vision was an outright monstrosity to her. The owl furrowed her eyes at all of them and glared angrily.

Who are you? the owl was thinking. Are you going to hurt me like those other people did? Do you know how much pain I’ve been in, what those evil people did to my mind and my body?

Vision left to go for some fresh air, so Wanda stayed to watch the owl. The owl stayed in the corner of her cage for a very long time, glaring and brooding on her angry thoughts. Every time someone would come near her, she would fluff her feathers to make herself look bigger, and then if anyone touched her or put their finger inside her cage she would bite them. If she’d been free, Wanda knew the owl would have done a lot of damage to whoever she thought was threatening her.

After a while she seemed to calm down. She preened her feathers, focusing on a few spots at a time and working with great effort. She got tired very easily. But she hadn’t groomed herself in a long time. There weren’t any nits or bugs to get out of it, but it was still a way of restoring her dignity. She took a nap in the middle of the afternoon, exhausted. But then after about an hour she woke up. The owl looked past the bars of the cage containing her and examined the room beyond it. Where was she? These people weren’t going to hurt her, but who were they? And where had she been, when she was hurt? How was she supposed to go back to the place where she had come from? She knew she had died and been pulled back. But where were the people she cared about? The ones who cared for her, in return?

And what was this thing sticking out of her body, this tube? It would have to go. The owl started to pull at the IV on her back with her beak.

Agent Grayson came over. “I was just about to change that, birdie.”

Wanda looked up at Agent Grayson. “Would she be able to eat solid food, if you let her?”

“I don’t know,” said Grayson. “I think we’ll have to call Dr. Daniels on that. Just let me fix this here--” He stuck his hand into the cage. The bird sprang to life, chirping angrily and trying to bite Grayson’s finger. Grayson was a little less pain tolerant than his colleague Kellor. He had to go back for an injection that would calm the owl down again.

“No, wait,” said Wanda. She was trying to sense the owl’s mind.

The owl turned her head. She knew that Wanda could read her. She glared at her suspiciously but stayed still.

He wants to help you, Wanda told the owl telepathically. Please, remain calm. He is trying to help you.

She looked to Grayson. “Get her some water, in a dish. She will be able to drink it. And remove her from the IV. I do not think she will need that any longer.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” said Wanda. 

“All right,” said Grayson uncertainly.

Do not attack him, he is going to remove the IV, Wanda told the owl. The owl stared at her. She cringed with pain a little as Grayson pulled out the needle, but then she relaxed considerably once it was out. 

“I’m going to call Dr. Daniels,” said Grayson, going to the office phone.

The owl continued to stare at Wanda with her wide eyes.

I am a friend, Wanda said to the owl. I am here to help you. Wanda walked up to the cage and let a hand rest on the bars. 

The owl remained still and watched her, wondering just what this human was up to. 

The owl only knew two things, one, that the human could be trusted, and two, that this human was different.

 

From what Wanda could hear of their phone conversation, Dr. Daniels was very pleased that the owl had come around. He suggested giving her small tidbits of solid food and plenty of water to drink while Grayson and Kellor continued with the nutrient injections every so often. The owl was able to eat the little bit of meat that Kellor gave her and immediately wanted more. 

Wanda stepped out for a moment to use the bathroom a while later. As she was coming back to the lab, she saw Agent Grayson poking his head out of the lab door.

“Wanda, I was wondering if you could help us,” he said.

“With what?”

“We’re trying to give her a couple of shots but she won’t stay still. But you seem to have a calming influence on the bird.”

“Oh do I, now?” said Wanda.

Wanda followed Grayson into the lab. Kellor was holding a syringe with one hand and trying to grab a hold of the owl through the cage with the other. The owl was putting up a   
fight.

Wanda strolled confidently up to the cage. “Hold still,” she said to the owl, thinking it in her mind as well. The owl was surprised by Wanda’s return, and taken off guard Kellor   
was able to give her the injection. 

The owl immediately ruffled herself away on release and gave Wanda a look of betrayal. What was that for? the owl seemed to say.

“They are giving you the shots so they can help you. Your body lacks nutrients,” Wanda said to the bird.

Kellor came back around with another full syringe.

“Please, can’t you hold still?”

The owl glared at Kellor and the needle and back at Wanda. But seeing no better option, the owl remained still and allowed Kellor to give her the injection.

“I can’t believe I’m talking to an owl,” Wanda said.

“Would she understand me, perhaps, if I tried to talk to her?” asked Kellor.

“I think so.” The owl had an unusual sense of understanding human behavior and speech, a sense that Wanda had never seen before in an animal. And it hadn’t come from Hydra.

“Now,” said Agent Kellor, “I am going to take you and I will insert this thermometer into your rectum so I can take your temperature. Is that all right?”

The owl gave a chirrup-like hoot.

“She doesn’t trust you,” Wanda interpreted. “She thinks your ways of helping her are strange.”

“Well, it’s not that I blame you,” said Kellor. “And this probably is similar to what Hydra did to hurt you, poor thing.”

Wanda wished the owl had a name she could call her by. “We are not like them. We are wanting to help you. We need you to trust us.”

The owl gave Wanda another look, one tinged by a little sadness and fear, but also submission. Kellor did not wait, but took the owl and laid her on her back to take her   
temperature.

“Hm, she’s a little bit on the cold side, I think,” said Kellor. “I suppose we should get her a heat lamp.”

“That would be good, yes. You should have done that much sooner.” 

Kellor went to wash and sterilize the thermometer. The owl looked back up at Wanda. 

It was hard for her to imagine what the owl had to be grateful for, but then Wanda realized that the owl had accepted her help.

 

Coulson and Hillary finally returned about six in the evening. They came directly to the laboratory to inspect the owl, accompanied by Vision and the Doctor.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t have come sooner,” said Coulson.

“How are the interrogations going?” asked Agent Kellor.

“Slow. Those Hydra lab techs don’t really want to talk about their work. I don’t blame them, but it’d be helpful if…” Coulson broke off and shrugged. He looked at the owl.

“She is certainly a beautiful creature,” Vision said fondly. “Especially now since she is awake and returning to her full health.”

“She is,” said Coulson. He walked up next to the cage. He looked down at the owl. The owl looked back at him with her round, golden eyes, uncertain. She glanced over at   
Wanda, who was standing nearby.

It is all right, Wanda said to the owl through her mind. Coulson is a friend.

The owl looked up at Coulson.

Something happened in that moment that even Wanda couldn’t quite explain. Outwardly, Coulson’s smile faded, as though someone were telling him something. The owl only continued to stare at him. There was something happening in both of their minds--a recognition, perhaps, of kindred spirits.

Coulson backed away from the cage. He asked Agents Kellor and Grayson about their treatments for the owl and how she was recovering. The Doctor listened with interest.

“So how much longer does she need to be in the cage getting nutrient injections?” asked Coulson.

“Well, at best I would say give it another day or two,” said Kellor. “But if you are needing to move her sooner, providing you could take her to a place where she could get further treatment, then you could take her tomorrow or even tonight if you wanted to.”

“Will she be able to fly again?” asked Coulson.

“I think so,” said Grayson. “Give it a few days so she regains her strength.”

“Could she survive in the wild, if she needed to? Is she able to hunt?”

“As far as our analysis has been able to determine,” said Kellor, “she was born and raised and lived most of her life in captivity but the majority of her diet was rodents that she   
caught in the wild. But after going through such a traumatic experience as that, you know, she might not be able to fend for herself.”

“She would be able to,” Wanda said. 

“Can you feel her telling you that?” asked Kellor.

“Yes, but she agrees that she would need time to regain her strength.”

“So all we need to do is decide what to do with her, is that it?” asked Hillary.

“Well, we are not equipped to be an veterinary hospital,” said Agent Grayson. “We could send her to a bird recovery center or an animal sanctuary. But we cannot keep her here   
longer than a day or two more. I called a pet feed store a while ago to ask what it would take to feed her--bringing her mice and rats would get expensive, and messy, rather quickly.”

“You are quite right, my friend,” said the Doctor. “It would not be a convenience for anyone to keep her here permanently. So we must decide where she must go. I thank you for your help in treating her, agents, but anything that is said here from here out must be kept between myself, Director Coulson, and the Avengers.”

“Absolutely,” said Kellor, nodding quietly. She was disappointed to be relieved of her charge but she knew it wasn’t her call to make. 

And Grayson felt the same way. “Well, if you have any questions, let us know.” 

The two agents left the room and closed the door behind them.

“Do I have to go, too?” asked Hillary.

“No, Miss Tanner, in fact I need your input on this matter.” The Doctor surveyed the other people in the room. And he looked at the owl. Wanda caught Coulson glancing at her   
too.

“I think the first question is, in deciding her fate, is where she came from and if she can return there,” said Vision.

“Well, I think I know who she is,” said Hillary. “This is Hedwig. Harry Potter’s owl.”

The owl chirped. Wanda turned around to look at her. The owl had recognized the name.

“I am sorry, but what does that mean?” Wanda asked Hillary.

“Have you never read Harry Potter, Wanda?” asked Coulson, leaning against the counter with his arms folded.

“No, I haven’t. I’ve heard of the name, of course, but it was just an American thing. Pietro and I never liked American culture so we didn’t get into it.”

“Harry Potter is British!” said Hillary.

“Western culture, then,” said Wanda. “It was all the same: if the Americans liked it, then it was bad for Sokovia. But now…”

“But now your views have changed,” said Coulson. “You’ve been living in America for the last six months. And yet you still haven’t gotten around to seeing the movies? Or   
reading the books? Steve has read them.”

“We do not discuss children’s books in Avengers meetings,” said Wanda. “You shouldn’t blame him if he didn’t encourage me.”

“Well, Harry Potter isn’t strictly children’s literature but that’s another debate,” Hillary piped in. “Sorry, go on.” She looked back at the owl. The owl was preening herself.

“So what is the significance of the owl?”

“Owls are the primary messengers in Harry Potter’s society,” said the Doctor. “They carry the post, packages, news, everything. And this particular owl belonged to the main character of the series.”

“So how did she get here, if she was from a children’s book?” asked Vision.

“During Harry’s final flight from Privet Drive, at the start of book seven,” said the Doctor, “Harry was attacked by Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters. A killing curse struck   
Hedwig. Harry had been riding with the cage in the sidecar of Hagrid’s borrowed motorcycle, but the sidecar became dislodged. Harry escaped, but the sidecar fell to earth.”

“It was blown up,” said Hillary. “Blown to bits, all of it--unless--”

“Unless the cage fell out of the sidecar with Hedwig in it before it exploded. Harry may not have seen it,” said the Doctor. He rubbed his hands. “Now, getting to what I was   
saying, as the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters rode over Surrey, there was in that exact location an instability in space and time, a crack that opened up below them. Hedwig’s cage fell through the crack, dead body and all, leaving Harry Potter’s world in 1997 and landed in 20__ in this dimension. And that’s where Hydra came in.”

“The cage must have been lying in the woods for several days until they found her,” said Coulson. He held his hands out and gestured as he spoke. “Stumbling across a dead owl in a cage doesn’t happen every day. But they would have found her the perfect test subject for the T96 serum, to test its capabilities to bring back the dead....or maybe, the Harry Potter series originated in Britain, some demented fanboy or fangirl, working for Hydra via S.H.I.E.L.D.--”

“We’re not going there!” Hillary cut in. 

“We have to accept the possibility that--”

“Since when does Hydra ever have good intentions?”

“Well, I’m just saying, even the best people get caught up--”

“That’s enough, the both of you!” the Doctor cut them off. “There is no point debating how it could have happened. For now, we need to discuss what happens next. We have an owl here who’s been brought back across time from another dimension and that clearly doesn’t belong here. What do you suggest we do?”

“Well, do you have any solutions, Doctor?” asked Coulson.

“With all due respect, Director,” said the Doctor, “I wished to defer to your opinion on this matter and to see what kind of options we had.” 

“Well, I was going to suggest you decide on this matter, since you’re the expert on crossing spacetime.”

“The owl was rescued under your watch, Director. And she is the victim of heinous experiments in a Hydra laboratory. Certainly your role as Director requires you to dispose of   
the effects of Hydra’s evil.”

“That’s right,” Coulson said, nodding. Wanda could feel how much the responsibility weighed on him. And yet he felt a kinship with the owl, whose unlawful return from the dead   
had paved the way for his own. 

And unless Wanda was quite mistaken, this owl could sense that in him as well. Some kind of strange power rested on Coulson, that enabled him to understand her, not intuition   
but something deeper.

“So if your story is correct, Doctor, and Hedwig was indeed captured by Hydra, can we know for sure that this is the same owl standing before us?” said Vision.

“Well, what do you think, Wanda? You can read her mind.” The Doctor nodded at her.

Wanda turned to look at the owl.

Hillary walked up to the cage and leaned her hand against it. Wanda could tell that the owl was waiting for something.

“Go ahead,” said Wanda to Hillary. “Ask her.”

Hillary bent her face down so she was eye-level with the owl. “Are you Hedwig?”

Are you Hedwig? Wanda asked the owl through her mind. The owl looked at Wanda through the cage bars. Are you the owl that they say you are?

The owl looked back at Hillary. 

Yes.

“Yes. She is.”

Coulson said nothing. He had been watching his assistant. But Wanda could feel the owl was speaking to him, too.

Hillary slowly began to smile. “Hedwig?” she said, almost gasping.

The owl chirped at Hillary. Part of Hillary’s finger was poking through the cage bars. The owl did not bite it. Instead she moved closer to Hillary.

“Yes, I know who you are,” said Hillary. “I’m...such a huge fan.” She stuck her entire index finger through. The owl raised her head so that Hillary’s finger could stroke her head   
feathers. “Oh. Hedwig!”

“Extraordinary,” said Wanda.

“How interesting,” said Vision.

Coulson remained silent and watched with his arms folded. The owl was watching him.

“So what do we do, Doctor?” said Coulson. “Is there a way to take her back?”

“To her dimension? Yes,” said the Doctor. “I could take her just as easily in the T.A.R.D.I.S..”

“Well, then let’s do that!” said Hillary.

“Hillary, calm down,” said Coulson.

“Doctor, I’ve always been convinced that the Wizarding World exists--more than any other fictional world. And now here’s the proof. And here’s the chance to see more of it.”

“Now, Agent Tanner, your sentiments are noble,” said the Doctor. “But I cannot allow it. Taking people with me across dimensions is a liability--people get lost or mixed up in the wrong stories. This is serious business. I don’t let people go on their own or even with me very often--I’ve only made the exception for a handful of people. But this situation does not call for a group foray into the Wizarding World. We only need to send one person. Now, I could go very easily myself. But I think the owl knows a better way.”

“What do you mean?” asked Coulson. 

Hillary looked at the Doctor in disgust.

“Miss Maximoff--I think this owl favors you as company.”

Well, Wanda wasn’t going to deny it. But she hadn’t even read these books that the owl was supposedly a character in.

“How am I qualified for this?”

“Your powers can not only manipulate matter and minds,” said the Doctor. “But also space. You could breach through an interdimensional barrier if you wanted to. If you went to   
the right place to do it.”

“You want me to take the owl?” said Wanda. “But I couldn’t.” 

The owl chirped at her in protest.

“She wants you. She has responded better to you than anyone else she’s met since leaving Hydra.”

“If what I’ve heard about your powers is true,” said Coulson, “and by all reports, you are capable, then you can fill this assignment. Hedwig belongs in the world she came from.”

“He’s right,” said Hillary. She had her arms folded and she was looking dejectedly at the floor. “After Hagrid, Hedwig was Harry’s first friend in the Wizarding World. She brought   
him his mail when he was at the Dursleys during the summer--she kept him connected. She was how he kept in touch with Sirius Black. Hedwig’s done so much for him. And I’m sure he’s missed her, since losing her. I’m sure if anyone has the right to decide what happens to her now, it’s the Boy Who Lived.”

“So what do we need to do to make this happen?” Coulson asked the Doctor.

“I have an interdimensional communicator that I left with a contact in Diagon Alley. He is a member of Potter’s circle, so he should be able to arrange to have him meet with Miss Maximoff and Hedwig. They will rendezvous at the Leaky Cauldron--that is a wizarding location that Muggles have the easiest access to, so it should not be as hard for Wanda to break through the interdimensional gap there.”

“How long will it take to get a hold of this contact?” asked Coulson.

“With any luck, within a day. I will go down to the T.A.R.D.I.S. right now and send the message. I’ll tell him we can meet the day after tomorrow. Does that sound fair enough?”

“If you can get a hold of him sooner, that would be better. Let’s shoot for tomorrow afternoon.”

“Got it” The Doctor sauntered out of the room.

Vision walked up to the cage. “Quite an interesting creature.”

Hedwig hooted at him and flapped her wings a little.

“She doesn’t really understand how we figured out who she is,” said Wanda. “But she is happy enough, to hear her own name again."

“Let me see her,” said Coulson. 

“She came back from the dead, boss. Just like you.” 

“Yeah. How about that?” He stuck his finger through the cage. Rather than trying to bite it off, Hedwig nibbled his finger, just tapping it with the sides of her beak.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hedwig--well, meet you formally. I, eh, watched you while you were sleeping.”

Hedwig backed away from him and chirped.

“I mean I was, um, present when you were--you know what I mean.” Coulson turned to Hillary. “So what’s Harry doing these days, do you know?”

“Well, according to Pottermore and other sites, Harry is working for the Ministry of Magic as an Auror.”

“Right. It’s six p.m.--no, take that back, it’s almost seven thirty. Where does he live?”

“Dunno. I always thought maybe he’d go back to Grimauld Place--technically it’s his property.”

“Harry? Raising his family in that haunted house, are you serious?”

“I guess now that I think about it, that is kind of a dumb idea,” Hillary admitted. “But I don’t know how long it’s going to take the Doctor to get a hold of him through this contact.   
He’ll have to sit down and write everything.”

“Or maybe the Doctor will just tell the contact to have Harry meet him. Any ideas who it is?”

“He mentioned George Weasley. Says he’s been to his shop to pick up gear on occasion.”

“Ah. Yes, random crap from a Wizarding joke shop, that should come in handy for a Time Lord.”

“Do you think Harry would want her back?” Hillary asked. 

“I don’t see why he wouldn’t,” said Coulson. “And if he doesn’t, he’ll find someplace for her in his own world. Just as long as she’s not here anymore.”

He looked over at Hedwig. But Hedwig, Wanda sensed, was not as sure about this plan of returning her to the Wizarding World as Coulson was.

We’ll see what can be done.


	7. Charing Cross Road

Fred and Pietro made their way back to the afterlife through London’s Hyde Park and went to find the Marauders.

“Prongs!” Fred shouted when they approached.

Prongs lifted his head lazily from Lily’s stomach. “Eh?”

“They’ve found your son’s owl.”

“Who’s found an owl?” said Padfoot, sitting up.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. has,” said Pietro. “Apparently she had died but Hydra revived her. Now S.H.I.E.L.D. has rescued her.”

“Well, good for them,” said Tonks.

“Do we need to take her back?” said Moony.

“Actually, that’s being arranged for right now,” said Fred. “They are sending Wanda with Hedwig to the Leaky Cauldron.”

 

The Doctor returned to the S.H.I.E.L.D. lab only a few minutes after leaving.

“I have some good news, said the Doctor. “My friend responded to my message almost right away. He said he would get a hold of Harry to arrange for the meeting. He said he should have an answer by tomorrow morning.”

“Fair enough,” said Coulson.

“So in the meantime,” said Hillary.

“Well, yes,” said the Doctor. “I suppose we wait.”

“How about we go out to dinner to celebrate?” said Coulson. “Do you know any good restaurants around here, Doctor?”

“I would certainly be happy to show you,” said the Doctor. Coulson walked up to him and the Doctor put an arm around his back. They walked out of the room together. Hillary   
and Vision followed. But Wanda was the last to leave. Hedwig didn’t like being left behind.

“We’ll come right back, Hedwig,” said Wanda. Hedwig chirped at her across the room.

It seemed wrong that they were going out to celebrate without the owl who had brought about the occasion.

They went to the hotel to freshen up and Hillary loaned Wanda one of her outfits (the clothes were a little tight on Wanda). Coulson drove the Doctor, Wanda, Vision, and Hillary in a borrowed S.H.I.E.L.D. car, and the Doctor directed him to a not-too-pricey Italian restaurant in Fullham. Coulson wasn’t a terribly good driver on British roads, and the Doctor wasn’t good at directions without the T.A.R.D.I.S., so they got lost and nearly wrecked a few times. Wanda had to use her powers to keep an oncoming car from crashing into them when they swerved unexpectedly onto an intersection. But they made it alive. The food was excellent. Everyone had wine but Hillary, but she toasted with them using her soda.

The Doctor and Coulson had them stop at a wine shop on the way back to S.H.I.E.L.D., and he and Coulson came out with a bottle of champagne.

“Are you guys serious?” Hillary said as they got back in the car.

“We’ll just go down to the T.A.R.D.I.S. for a sip,” said the Doctor. 

So while the Doctor and Coulson headed off to one side after they parked, Vision, Wanda, and Hillary returned to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s office. There were quite a few of the British agents working late. Hillary, Wanda and Vision returned to the laboratory. Agent Kellor and Agent Grayson were feeding Hedwig for the night.

“Well, you showed up just in time,” said Grayson. 

“How was dinner?” asked Kellor.

“It was pretty good,” said Hillary. “So how’s our bird doing?”

“She’s all right. She’s feeling fairly active. We were getting ready to give her some injections, actually,” said Grayson. He reached his hand into the cage and tried to grab Hedwig,   
and she shied away.

“Hedwig, stay calm,” said Wanda.

“Oh, she has a name?” asked Kellor.

“Were you ever a fan of Harry Potter?” Hillary asked.

“The movies were all right. But I suppose if you want me to be interested in a fantasy epic you need to have a better protagonist than a whiney teenage boy,” said Kellor.

“I see,” said Hillary. Kellor handed Grayson several syringes in succession while he gave them to Hedwig. Hedwig was pained and annoyed by the shots but with Wanda in the room she was somewhat more at ease.

“She’s so skinny,” said Grayson as he pulled his hand out of the cage and shut the hatch.

“Well, owls are actually fairly small under their fluff,” said Kellor.

“I know, but I’ve handled birds before. Even for an owl, she’s skinny. She’s so undernourished. How did Hydra even keep her alive?”

“Nutrient injections, I guess,” said Kellor. “She probably doesn’t like them any better from us.”

Wanda shook her head and smiled. Hedwig didn’t like shots at all.

“But anyway,” said Grayson. He went over to the mini-fridge on the counter. 

“So what is it you are feeding her?” asked Vision. 

“Just a little meat mixed with crushed bones and other body parts--rats and mice. Owls in the wild eat their prey whole or rip them apart. She seems to be taking it okay. She’s   
got a pretty good appetite, too.” Grayson went over to the cage and deposited the meaty mix into a dish. Hedwig ate with relish.

Hillary watched her fondly. 

“I know what you are thinking, Hillary,” said Wanda. “Arizona is hardly a good climate for a snowy owl.”

“Coulson would never approve of it, either,” said Hillary dejectedly. “But...she’s so beautiful. And she needs a good home. She’s Hedwig, Wanda. Who wouldn’t want her?”

“Birds of prey are actually a lot of upkeep,” said Grayson. “Very expensive. I’ve got an uncle who’s a falconer in Cornwall. Never see him except at Christmas, he’s always so busy.   
He has to fly his birds every single day--who’s got time for that?”

“And besides, don’t you have a cat, Hillary?” said Vision.

“Who told you I had a cat?”

“Steve did. He said it was your cat that--”

“Ugh, right. Don’t remind me.”

“Do snowy owls eat cats?” asked Kellor.

“No, they eat lemmings. Ptarmigan, sometimes,” said Grayson. “But it’s been my experience raptors will attack anything that looks edible. Especially owls. People think they’re   
wise but they’re actually pretty stupid, my uncle says.” Hedwig looked up at Grayson and glared at him. He got the message. “Well, er, It’s a pity this case is classified--he would’ve loved to hear about this bird. She’s a beauty.”

Hedwig, though she was eating, heard the compliment and was flattered. She had a little bit of a vain streak.

Just then the Doctor burst into the room, followed by Coulson. Coulson didn’t appear all that tipsy, so Wanda guessed they hadn’t finished off that champagne.

“We’ve just received a reply from my contact,” said the Doctor. “Mr. Potter will be meeting with us tomorrow at the agreed location.”

“Did he give a time?” said Vision.

“Three o’clock,” said the Doctor. “So you all get a good night’s rest, and tomorrow you’ll be off to Charing Cross, Miss Maximoff.”

The Doctor excused himself to return to the T.A.R.D.I.S. for the night.

“How did he get the message?” Hillary asked Coulson.

“I dunno,” said Coulson, shrugging. “I was in the control room when he said he wanted to go check something and he left for a minute. He came back and said we needed to go.”

“Well, that’s very nice,” said gent Kellor. “Well, I suppose I’ve got to go home now. Your friend here will sleep well tonight.”

“I thought owls were only active at night,” said Wanda.

“Some owls,” said Grayson. “A lot of owls are awake during the day, too. Snowy Owls in particular live in the Arctic where it’s daylight for about half the year ‘round the clock.” He   
filled out something on a clipboard and left the room with Kellor.

“They said the owl’s name was Hedwig,” said Kellor quietly as they left.

“And they’re taking her to a man named Potter,” Grayson shook his head.

“Maybe that Doctor fellow had too much to drink.”

“Do time lords get drunk?”

“I don’t know. I don’t watch Doctor Who.”

The two agents left the room, laughing.

Coulson walked up to Hedwig’s cage. “So it looks like you’re going home, Hedwig,” he said. He put his finger through the bars to stroke her feathers.

 

The next morning, Wanda dressed in the only spare outfit she had brought besides her Avengers uniform, the jacket and dress she had worn to the battle in Sokovia. At the S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory, Grayson and Kellor produced a birdcage that had been brought by an agent named Smith, found at a secondhand shop, and at one in the afternoon carefully transferred Hedwig to it. Hedwig hooted in protest when she was picked up, but Wanda reached out to her mind to calm her. She knew that Hedwig had died in a cage and was afraid to go back into one. The cage with Hedwig in it wasn’t too heavy, fortunately.

“Are you sure you can handle this on your own?” Vision asked her.

“I will be fine,” said Wanda, replacing the cage on the counter after she had tested the weight. Hedwig looked at Wanda reproachfully as she hefted the cage around and mentally urged her to be careful.

“So all I need to do is take the subway to this place?” Wanda asked.

“The tube should get you to Tottenham Court close to where it meets Charing Cross,” said the Doctor. “Once you get there, call Director Coulson and I will give you instructions on how to reach the exact location.”

“Do you have my phone number?” asked Coulson.

“No,” said Wanda. She pulled out her phone from her knapsack and recorded Coulson’s number.

“Do you want anyone to walk with you to the Tube?” asked Coulson.

“No, I should be fine,” said Wanda. Agent Grayson handed her a cover for the cage. Hedwig took a look around at the people in the room before Wanda lowered it.

“Goodbye, Hedwig,” said Hillary. It really hurt her to let Hedwig go. 

Coulson felt reluctant to part with the owl as well, but as he always told himself it was for the best.

“I can come with you, if you want,” said Vision.

“Oh, all right. You can come with me,” said Wanda. 

“Don’t forget to call us when you get there,” Coulson reminded her.

“Say hi to Harry Potter for me,” said Hillary. As Wanda and Vision left the lab with the birdcage, Hillary stepped forward as if to follow them and Coulson had to grab her arm to   
restrain her. “And tell us everything when you get back!”

 

The walk to the tube station was uneventful. Vision got plenty of rude stares from people, but Wanda noticed that just as many people thought he was an odd combination with her and the birdcage. He gave her a hug before she got on the subway train.

It was standing room only inside the train and Wanda held onto one of the rails with her free hand. Plenty of people glanced oblong at the cage she was carrying but nobody   
asked what was inside of it. Wanda wouldn’t have known how to answer if they had.

Wanda had to transfer to a different train to get to Tottenham Court. Finally, she emerged from the London Underground into the weak November sunlight. It was a chilly day but Wanda had never minded cool weather. The owl was sleeping contentedly in her cage.

As she reached the intersection to Charing Cross and turned the corner she reached behind to her knapsack pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

“Hello?” Coulson answered.

“Coulson, it’s Wanda. I’ve reached Charing Cross.”

“Good. I’ll hand you over.” There was a pause as the phone was passed to the Doctor.

“Wanda, where are you?”

“I am on Charing Cross Road heading east.”

“Good. Keep going that direction. Now, on the right side of the street there will be two shops numbered two-fourteen and two-eighteen. You will stop between them to break   
the interdimensional barrier to enter two-sixteen. Understood?”

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense,” said Wanda. “Any advice for how to do so?”

“You’re the expert, Miss Maximoff. Good luck.”

The Doctor abruptly hung up. She supposed she might try calling them back. But she had enough information to go on, to know where she was headed. She would call if she had any trouble.

The buildings and shops she passed were numbered in the four-seventies and decreasing as she walked eastward. So there were only a few blocks to go. There were not many people out walking and not a lot of traffic on the broad avenue and the narrow, windy streets and alleys that intersected it.

 

“Uh-oh,” said Pietro, watching from behind the corner of an alleyway. “She’s got company.” Two men were walking behind her at a short distance up the street, and they were catching up. 

Fred looked around. “There’s more following coming up to meet her,” he said. “And two more waiting to cross at the next light. She’s too far away for a call for help to be of any good to her. And we can’t stage an intervention--we’re not those kinds of angels. She’s on her own.”

“Well, just you watch,” said Pietro. “My sister can take pretty good care of herself. She is an Avenger.”

“You don’t say.”

 

She had only to glimpse ahead to see two men walking toward her, and she could read their minds and their intentions in an instant. Then she felt the minds of four more--a man and a woman waiting to cross the street and intercept her, two more men behind her.

Well, it took a lot more than that to surprise her. But she didn’t know what to do with Hedwig. She would have to lose track of them before she could hide the owl. So she continued walking. She wasn’t sure who would run into her first. Then the two behind her quickened their pace and started to run. She could tell without looking behind her that they were drawing their weapons.

They were going to taze her. How foolish of them.

Wanda turned around. With one hand she unleashed her powers. The men’s guns grew hot in their hands and they exploded in their faces. They fell. The two men who had been   
coming from the other direction came running, pushing aside the other pedestrians. Wanda let the cage rest on the ground for just a moment. She used both her hands to attack the second pair: she threw both of them into the air. One of them she threw against a wall--she had been aiming for the window. Oh well. He crumpled and fell to the ground with an anguished yell. His back was broken. The second man got pushed backward until he slammed into a traffic signal. He fell and when he hit the ground was promptly struck by a car, though not badly.

The first two attackers were back on their feet and ran towards Wanda. One of them carried a knife. Wanda picked up the owl cage and started to run across the street. Traffic had stopped. The third pair of her attackers was halfway down the crosswalk but promptly cut through the cars waiting at the stoplight. Wanda heard the sounds of angry yelling and cars honking and crashing behind her. She had to weave back and forth between waiting and moving cars, some of which slammed noisily on their breaks. Wanda wanted to take one of the cars and throw it at her pursuers but she knew Steve would never have permitted that were he with her.

It was pretty hard to run with the owl cage in one hand. Underneath her cover Hedwig had woken and was hooting and screeching angrily. Wanda tried to calm her mind but she heard the sound of gunfire behind her and seconds later felt bullets whizzing past her head. Then a bullet hit the metal bars of the birdcage with a BRANG! as she walked up onto the curb.

She was trying to not do two things: scream and think of how Pietro had died.

I’ve been in worse firefights than this before, she told herself. I can do this.

Across the street there was a small side street that turned off from Charing Cross. One of the first businesses on that side street was a cafe with a good number of tables outside,   
though right now the customers who had been eating there were screaming and running for cover.

The shooters were still navigating the street, although the man with the gun was getting close.

One of the civilians about to run inside was a blond teenage boy wearing a hoodie and following his friends into the cafe. Wanda grabbed him by the shoulder, holding him a little   
too tightly.

“Can you take care of these?” she said. She slid her knapsack from off her back and handed it to the boy.

“Sure,” he said, caught by surprise and unsure how to respond. 

“I’ll be back.”

He took the birdcage and followed the rest of the customers inside of the shop.

Really, Wanda, you gave Hedwig to a civilian? she chided herself. But at least Hedwig was okay for now.

The restaurant owner slammed the door shut and pulled down the CLOSED sign.

Wanted turned her back to the restaurant. Four people were approaching her, the two men who had attacked her first, the man with a pistol, and a woman who was also carrying   
a heavy assault weapon.

Wanda picked up one of the metal cafe tables and threw it at the woman. The woman didn’t react quickly enough and got trapped under it. She was still alive but unconscious. 

She picked up a second table with a hex. The man with the pistol saw it coming. His companions moved behind her, and one of them picked up a chair and threw it at her from   
behind. Wanda turned around and threw the chair back at him, and he got out of the way only just in time. He fell backward and slammed into the chairs at the other tables.   
His friend, who had a knife, walked up to her, his body crouched like he was confronting an animal. She let him get close to him. She wanted to show him what she was capable of. Sam Wilson had trained her in hand-to-hand combat, and it came in handy. He leaned back to throw the knife in her face and then threw himself forward with the blow. She moved her upper body to dodge him and stretched her legs to get out of the way. He followed her, trying to cut into her side under her arms--she wasn’t showing him anything front or back. She attempted to throw little hexes at him to affect his mind or his body or hurt him, but she couldn’t get them to latch onto him, she was conjuring them so quickly. They did little more than tickle him. Finally one exploded into his face and he yelled and stumbled backwards. Then Wanda created a bigger burst of energy that rolled him down the front walk of the cafe and into the street. The force of the blast knocked over another table and several chairs with it.The man picked himself up, barely avoiding being hit by an oncoming car that honked at him angrily. A mind spell from Wanda, and he was unconscious. 

There was a barrier of fallen chairs between Wanda and the two men who remained. She leaned forward with her hands resting on their backs, and as she caught her breath she dared the two assassins to come and attack her. They waited.

Slowly she stood up and straightened herself, looking them in the eyes. They were wondering where she had hidden the birdcage. But of course she wasn’t about to tell them, much less let them find it. They would have to get to her first. And they knew it.

Wanda turned around and ran across the narrow street. The two men followed her. The one with the pistol fired several shots at her but they went badly astray. Finally he had to stop and reload his cartridge.

She turned down the street and then headed up a narrow alley. The sides of the buildings were not as nearly well-upkept as the front. The blacktop was littered with broken concrete and other rubbish. Wanda went behind one of the tall metal building supports that stuck out of the side of the alley.

If they wanted to see what she was made of, she would show them.

Peering around the metal barrier, she saw the men approaching. The man with the gun started firing at her. Wanda stepped out from behind the barrier. She waved her arms   
dramatically to unleash a huge force field to block the bullets and then to push them to the ground. They both fell over, and the one dropped his weapon. Wanda had only to destroy it with a small plasma blast from her hand. The two men stood up and ran up to her. She fought them with her fists and her feet. They were strong for average men but they lacked Steve’s toughness and Natasha’s endurance. One of the men grabbed Wanda’s arms and pulled them behind her. She sent out a hex at him and he got hit full blast in the face and he fell over. At the same time Wanda kicked the other man in the stomach. He stumbled backwards but did not fall. Wanda landed on her feet and shot him with a hex. She had wanted to knock him out but it only made him rub his eyes. She growled and ran up to attack with her fists. The man sprinted down the alley. She ran after him, shooting hexes over his shoulder, hitting the sides of the walls around him to shower him with debris. 

Further down the lot there was a metal shed. She could sense her target hiding behind it. She walked up to the edge of the shed facing the wall and stared down the gap between the side. At that moment the man peered down for a glimpse. She raised her arms and sent a large hex at him. He dodged only just in time. She wanted to run around the side of the shed to face him but then two bullets flew over her head and hit the side of the shed. She whirled around and saw the woman who she had knocked out earlier. She was bleeding from a cut in the side of her head, but she was getting ready to fire a few more shots.

“You thought you saw the last of me, didn’t you?” The woman smiled. Wanda had seen pictures of the Hydra assassin Jamie Sneld but this woman didn’t quite fit the description--her face was rounder and her hair lighter, and plus she had a British accent. 

Then behind the woman came the assassin that had been hit by a car on Charing Cross Road. His face was a bloody mess but he had found another weapon and was loading it up to fire at Wanda.

“Cut off one head,” he growled, “two more will take its place.”

Wanda sent hexes out from both of her hands, crossing her arms in front of her. The man took the hex full to the face and fell over. The woman had fired her rifle and the hex had intercepted the bullets. Wanda sent another hex to destroy her gun. The barrel exploded in the woman’s face and she screamed.

Meanwhile, the man hiding behind the shed had come back around to support his comrades. Wanda took the shed and with her powers pried apart the metal walls. She sent the pieces flying in different directions to knock over her attackers. The man who had hidden behind the shed managed to escape the piece aiming for him--Wanda was trying to pin the other two to the ground. The storage shed had apparently held decorative tiles. The escapee produced a small grenade from a utility pouch and threw it. Wanda remotely tossed it back onto the stack of tiles. The grenade exploded, sending shards of glass and stone shrapnel all over the alleyway. The woman and the other man were screaming while the man who had set off the bomb ducked and Wanda covered herself with a force field.

When the dust settled, Wanda shook herself off. The two trapped Hydra assassins were a little worse for wear--the woman was moaning from under the metal sheet and trying to blink away the shards from her eyes. But the man who had launched the bomb had run clear of the explosion and now came back. He produced a short electrostaff and turned it on. He charged up to Wanda and tried to stab her. She let him dance around him, and then finally she sent him sprawling to the ground with a hex.

He got back up. Wanda used her powers to levitate the tile shards up and down the alleyway. She gathered them around her and created a whirlwind to surround herself. The man tried to get through, yelling in pain as the objects struck him while he tried to negotiate the maelstrom. But finally he stepped into the calm center and raised the electrostaff to strike Wanda. Wanda pushed him back with a blast of energy. He fell so far backward that his head struck the far wall, and he crumpled to the ground with a nasty thud. That one was dead.

She let the tile shards fall back to the earth around her. She looked around, surveying the damage from the fight. She had caused most of it, it looked like. She was a long way from where she needed to be. And Hedwig was waiting back in the cafe with her purse.

Wanda turned to leave, but then she heard a voice. It was the woman cursing her.

“You don’t understand,” she wailed, tears streaking the dirt on her face as she remained still under the metal board. “That owl...I found her. I thought I could bring her back. She was mine -- “

Yes, what she was saying was true. But Wanda also read in her mind that Owen Middlestone, the director of the Hydra laboratory, had decided to use the owl for Hydra’s purposes.

“You should never have given her to them,” said Wanda. She cast a small hex on the woman, enough to make her fall asleep and forget her pain temporarily.

Wanda could hear sirens in the distance as she walked out of the alleyway and into the side street that had brought her there. Police cars were already parked in front of the cafe. One or two of them saw her. A mind spell was sufficient to make them ignore her, and they walked right past in pursuit of their real quarry. Steve would have preferred her to actually work with the authorities, but she feared she was running late and she didn’t want to deal with them anyway--the fewer people that knew about Hedwig, the better. 

The side street had been blocked off and a crowd was gathered outside of the cafe. The teenage boy stood awkwardly on the sidewalk holding the cage and Wanda’s knapsack, apparently abandoned by his friends for the moment. She was relieved to see that at least he was all right. The police weren’t bothering him at all.

Wanda ran up to him. He heard her coming and nearly jumped in surprise, but then he gave a sigh of relief.

“Thank you so much,” Wanda said to the boy. She took the knapsack and slung it over her shoulder and then took the cage.

“You’re very welcome,” the boy replied to her. She walked away without a backward glance, no doubt leaving him confused.

No thanks to Wanda and her Hydra pursuers, the traffic on Charing Cross Road had slowed down considerably. Wanda had to wait for several anxious minutes at the crosswalk near the cafe, every other second glancing over her shoulder at the passers-by and the other people trying to cross the street who were staring at her. She was obviously disheveled after the fight, and furthermore people didn’t go around carrying bird cages in public that much.

Suddenly remembering, Wanda held up the birdcage and peeked under the cover. She saw the movement of white feathers and a loud, angry hooting. 

“Oh, you’re all right, thank goodness,” Wanda said aloud. Yes, Hedwig was all right, but in a right temper. She almost didn’t see the other people at the curb walking into the street until it was too late, and she hurriedly lowered the cover and trotted across the road.

Don’t worry, she said to the owl telepathically. You will soon be home. We’re almost to where we need to be.


	8. A Different Kind of Witch

“Well, it seems she did all right,” Fred commented as he and Pietro observed Wanda crossing the road.

“All right? She was amazing! Admit it!” Pietro said, shoving Fred in the shoulder.

“Whatever,” said Fred. “Well, I guess if that was supposed to be the hard part, then what comes next should be a piece of cake. Here she is at the Leaky Cauldron.”

 

After a few minutes of hurried walking (she was exhausted but felt she could no longer delay), she finally reached the absent address. Nothing seemed to be wrong to the other pedestrians about the fact that number 216 was missing. There was nothing between the shops in 214 and 218. But Wanda stood in front of the gap between the buildings.  
There was something different about this spot. The air had a kind of shimmery feeling to it. It seemed like there was supposed to be something in the middle, something that was supposed to be missed by people who weren’t looking for it. And it felt like all she had to do to see it was to break the barrier that hid it from her.

She put the cage down on the ground next to her. When there were no other pedestrians passing in front of her, she raised her arms. She pressed her energy against the barrier, probing for an opening. The air vibrated at her remote touch. The invisible barrier was solid, but though it seemed like the merest touch could break it at the same time she felt layers upon layers compressed within it--layers that held up between different parts of time and space. 

She had to break through it in order to return this owl to her rightful place. Wanda decided that what she needed was a hole--a hole big enough for her to walk through to get to what was on the other side.

She took a deep breath and pushed a huge volume of her powers against the barrier to penetrate it. A hole took shape, and then the edges spread outward, widening into a  
circular portal. Behind the swirling red mist she could see a building that had been there all along but was invisible from her side--number 216. It was an entrance to a grubby, old-fashioned pub. A sign over the door declared the name THE LEAKY CAULDRON. 

The entrance she had created was finally wide enough. It was stable. She picked up the birdcage and walked through it. It would stay open behind her until she returned.  
London didn’t feel any different on this side of her portal. Not at first. But walking across the threshold of the pub was definitely a step into a different world. The barroom itself had to have been several hundred years old and judging by the musty smell and the antique light fixtures hanging from the ceiling it had never been renovated. There were cobwebs in the back corners and unused nooks around the walls. All of the furniture was wooden and ancient.

But the people were something to be looked at. Most of them wore long robes of varying colors, but there was a smattering who wore fashions from different time periods--roaring twenties, medieval, renaissance, and a few Victorian. There were a few who wore more contemporary-looking clothes, but they were slashed and cut and colored in an edgy manner that rivaled even what Wanda had seen in the streets of modern London behind her. A few were smoking from long pipes, and all drank from vessels ranging from pewter tankards and wooden goblets to fairly normal-looking shot glasses.

Nobody paid Wanda too much attention as she walked into the room. Nearly everyone was talking and laughing with their neighbors. But as Wanda walked through the room she noticed the details. The pictures on the front of a newspaper called the Daily Prophet was covered with photos that moved, not just GIFs but photos with subjects that interacted with their surroundings. There was an older woman with frizzled gray hair sticking out from under a pointed hat that was reading a book called A History of the Second Wizarding War while her cat had climbed onto the table and was lapping from her mug. Two men sitting at one table were having an animated conversation about Quaffles and Chasers. And nearly all of the humans were holding onto decorated wooden sticks--wands. What was this place?

She heard a husky screeching noise over her head and saw a small creature perched on the rafters--a medium-sized and angsty owl. There were other owls up by the roof as well, some preening and others dozing or watching the barroom below. Hedwig would be in good company.

“Hey, you!” someone shouted at her. She turned around. She had been called by the old bartender from across the room. “Can I get you somethin’?”

“Er, no,” said Wanda nervously. “I’m..waiting for someone.”

“You know, you don’t just stroll into a bar without havin’ summat to drink,” the barman chided her.

“I’m sorry. I’ll…” she looked around the room. A few people were watching her. “I’ll sit down now.” 

She chose a spot at an empty table not far from the center of the room, and the people watching her looked away. 

“Riffraff,” somebody huffed.

She set the birdcage on the floor. It wouldn’t do to put it on the table--she was already out-of-place enough. But she picked up the cover. Hedwig sprang to life and tried to  
look past Wanda. She chirped with interest.

“Do you know this place, Hedwig?” Wanda asked her quietly. “Do you know where we are?”

The door on the far side of the room opened and a bell rang. A man entered, and Wanda knew immediately that he was one of the people who was supposed to meet her. He wasn’t a very tall man, more about Coulson’s height and with a rather stocky build. He had a receding hairline of red hair and a face covered with freckles that folded up between the stress lines of middle age. In the place of a left ear he had several faded scars on the side of his head. He wore a beige sweater and suit pants, appearing rather plain against the garish fashions of the other patrons.

“Ah, Mr. Weasley,” said the barman as the newcomer approached the bar. “What can I get for you?”

“I’m here to meet someone,” said Mr. Weasley. “A girl by the name of Wanda.”

“Ah,” said the barman. “No one named Wanda has come in recently, but there’s a girl who came just a few minutes ago. Seated over there.” He pointed at Wanda. Mr. Weasley  
turned his gaze until he made eye contact with her. 

“Ah, hello!” he said, smiling warmly.

There was nothing to fear from this man. Wanda waved at him.

“I’ll come over and join you,” he said. He turned to the barman. “Get me two butterbeers.”

“Will do,” said the barman. He turned his back for a moment and reappeared at the bar with two glasses full of a foaming draught. Mr. Weasley thanked him and took the drinks. 

He sat down at Wanda’s table. “Here you go, one glass for you and one for me.” He passed her the glass of butterbeer.

“Thank you,” said Wanda. “Who are you?”

“I’m George Weasley, proprietor of the Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes joke shop down the street in Diagon Alley.”

None of that made sense to Wanda. “All right,” she said. She lifted her glass up to taste the beer. It was very foamy and tasted of butterscotch and cream. “This is good. What is  
it called? Butterbeer?”

“Yes. It’s quite a fine drink. If you would rather have something else, though--”

“Oh, no, this is fine, Mr. Weasley.” She took a long drink of the butterbeer.

“Please, call me George.”

“So, you are friends with the Doctor?” asked Wanda.

“More or less. He comes into my shop on occasion, when he needs something. It’s been awhile since I’ve heard from him, actually. How is he?”

“I do not know him that well. I was just sent to run his interdimensional errand for him.”

“Oh. That’s...interesting.” He trailed off, unsure how to carry on the conversation.

Wanda got foam from the beer on her lip and she wiped it with her wristcuff. “So, who else is it we are meeting here today?”

“My friend Mr. Potter, of course,” he said. “He should be here any moment now. He said he had business in this part of London today. So, tell me, why did the Doctor send you  
here? You’re probably an above-average Muggle if you’ve run into him recently.”

“An above-average what?”

“A Muggle. I meant no offense,” he said, waving his hands. “It’s just a term for someone who’s not a witch or wizard. People who can’t do magic.”

“Witches? Wizards?” Wanda had a look around her. So that’s what all these strange people were. And they all used a unique kind of magic. “That is interesting.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, where I come from, magic is a little less commonplace,” she said. “But they call me a witch, because I have strange powers.”

“Oh, really? Where are you from?”

“Eastern Europe, originally. But I live in America now.”

“Oh.” George looked at her with mild curiosity. “And what brings you to England?”

“Business with the Doctor, as a matter of fact,” said Wanda. 

“You don’t say.” He caught her staring at his missing ear but didn’t mind--it was usual for strangers and even people he knew to do that. “So what do you do for a living, Wanda?”

“I...I am a superhero.” She wasn’t sure how to explain that.

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I have...unique abilities, and I use them to help people. Fight those who do wrong.”

“Really? Were you born a superhero or did you become one?”

“I became one,” said Wanda. “In my world there are these superheroes called the Avengers. Many people in my country thought they needed to be stopped because they were too  
powerful. My brother Pietro and I volunteered for these experiments by a scientist who wanted to find a way to fight the Avengers. We were exposed to...radiation from  
this...cosmic power source. He was given the ability to move quickly. I became able to manipulate matter and control people’s minds. Then the Avengers found out about us and came to destroy us. They called me the Witch. But then...it is not easy to summarize.”

“It’s all right, I’m listening,” said George.

“There was this robot,” said Wanda, “that one of the Avengers had built, named Ultron. He convinced Pietro, my brother, and I to work for him. We did, but then we realized that Ultron wanted to destroy the world--everything and everyone. So we worked with the Avengers to stop him. And now I work for them full time.”

“Superheroes, eh?” George remarked. He sniffed. “I suppose I’ve heard of Muggles doing weirder stuff. But that’s interesting, I suppose. The people in my community don’t really interact with Muggles--particularly Muggles from other dimensions. But my father, oh, Dad loves anything and everything to do with Muggles. I wish I’d thought to invite him to come over too, but then again I suppose the Doctor doesn’t want me introducing my dad to random strangers.” 

Wanda gave a small giggle.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

“Oh, cool. I miss when I was that young.” 

A waitress wearing a silk blouse and corset came by with a pitcher. “More butterbeer, Mr. Weasley?”

“Yes, Monique, thank you,” said George, raising his glass. Monique refilled George’s and Wanda’s glasses. “I come here every once in a little while,” he said to Wanda, “so they  
know my name. The barman was friends with Dad, too. Now, I heard you say you had a brother. Are there any more in your family?”

Wanda hadn’t planned on him asking that. “Actually, I am alone now. Our parents died when we were little. And my brother died fighting Ultron.”

“Oh.” There was something like anguish in George’s expression when he reacted. “I am so sorry--”

“No, it is all right. I have moved on.”

“No you haven’t,” said George.

Wanda smirked at him wearily. “What makes you say that?” She took a sip of butterbeer.

“How long has it been since your brother died?”

“A few months.”

“See, there you go. For some people, it takes a lifetime to get over it. Some of us never do.” He glanced down at the table and fingered the knots on the wood.

He had suffered the exact same loss. A twin brother.

But Wanda wasn’t ready to admit he had called her bluff. “Well, it’s not like the grief is debilitating me anymore. It did for the first few days, of course, and sometimes it’s worse.”

“You don’t have to downplay it,” said George. “I know exactly how you feel.”

“I know you do,” said Wanda.

“Look, if you don’t want to talk about it--”

“No!” said Wanda. She realized suddenly that she did want to talk about it. “It’s just...my friends understand what I’m going through, they’ve all suffered losses of some sort...but  
they don’t know exactly how this feels. To lose your twin, your sibling, your only family for many years. The person who protected you from everything. And then he was  
just...gone. To go from having someone else with you always, who knows you almost as well as you know yourself--and then to always be alone.”

“And you have to carry that with you every day,” said George. “And yet it’s not like other deaths. With other people you just adjust. But with a twin, you have to learn to be by yourself. To live by yourself. You have to get a completely different brain, almost. And you always notice--” He broke off before he finished. 

“You always notice when they are gone.”

“How did you lose him?”

“Ultron stole the Avengers’ private jet. He started shooting everything with it--it has a gun. Do you know what a gun is?”

“Very well.”

“Anyway, Pietro, he went to save one of our friends who was trying to help a little boy get to safety. Ultron was going to kill him.…I don’t understand how Pietro did it. Or why.  
He could have gotten out of there okay. But Barton wouldn’t have if he did.”

“I know. My brother...my twin brother, Fred...there was a war going on among our people, about twenty years ago. It was during the last battle, we went back to our school, Hogwarts, to help fight off our enemies. He was off fighting somewhere else when part of the roof collapsed on top of him. I guess it was either an explosion or a giant knocking the wall over--yes, we have giants,” he added grimly when he saw Wanda’s startled look. “But anyway. I didn’t find out until hours later. It was like the whole world…” His world should have ended when his brother’s did, and it hadn’t. “I went on by myself. For the first little while the world didn’t make sense. I didn’t know how to go on without him. I thought about killing myself. I thought about even closing the joke shop. But everyone kept saying no, no, no, keep it open, that’s what Fred would have wanted...I finally realized I couldn’t close the shop because then that would have been like losing him completely. Our magic doesn’t bring back the dead.”

“Mine doesn’t either.”

“I figured. But after a while, you go on, you start over, you figure out a new normal. And that’s okay. It was hard at first. I felt confused. I felt lonely--just terrible, aching loneliness. Every day. Every waking hour. I had to learn the hard way that I couldn’t just wallow in my loneliness all of the time--I had to pick myself up and keep going. It still hurts, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t learned to live with my grief. It’s just a part of me now. It’s not something that fills the void, it just comes with knowing that something’s missing from your life.” George sighed. “And you know, I come from a large family. I had five other siblings besides Fred, and plus there were my parents. I kept questioning, any of them could have died during the war. There were times when several of them came close. I kept questioning why it had to be Fred. Had he done something wrong, to deserve it? Was there some cruel scheme of the universe that called for his death? Or was I to blame? Was there anything I could have done to prevent it? But...war is just a messy business, I realized. Sometimes people just get killed for no reason. But I’ve also learned that death isn’t the end of life.”

“It’s not?” said Wanda, astonished that he would say such a thing.

“No, it’s not. I mean, yes, it’s true that the physical body has stopped working. But there’s a part of you--your spirit, your soul, whatever it is--it goes on. I mean, for the most part these spirits go on somewhere else. A few of them leave enough of themselves behind to become proper ghosts--there’s tons of them in our world. But the dead people that we love--the ones that we loved, and that loved us in life--they are always with us.”

“But that is impossible.”

“I’ve had friends who’ve had very real experiences with the other side,” said George.

“But if the dead are always with us, I can never see them or feel them or hear them or anything. That makes no sense.”

“You can’t see them, normally. And the dead don’t always speak to us in ways we can hear. But if you believe that they are near you--if you truly believe it--then you will feel  
them. It’s not a physical feeling, usually. It’s more like something in your heart. I’m sorry if I’m coming across as crazy to you--”

“No, it is not.” She cleared her throat. “It is not the craziest thing I have heard. But, do you really believe it? You have no evidence.”

“This isn’t the sort of thing you find physical evidence for,” George told her. “But if you want to find out for yourself, you have to let go of needing physical proof. But believe me,  
I know that Fred is watching over me. He isn’t with me a hundred percent of the time, but when I need him to come, he’s right there with me. And when things are the hardest, he is always close.” He gave her a small smile. “You know, I’ll bet if you believed in it, you would know that your brother was with you, too.”

“But is this a thing just in your world?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to find that out for yourself. But the people we love are always with us, even in death.”

“It is called remembering.”

“It is more than just remembering. It’s really them.” He finished off his glass of butterbeer. As far as Wanda could tell, George was perfectly sane. But why would he be telling  
her this? She didn’t believe in life after death, not by a long shot.

“I’m sorry, actually,” said George. “It’s probably a little too much to hear.”

“No, I understand,” said Wanda. “You are just trying to help me. People have told me similar things. They try to make me feel better by telling me he isn’t really gone. But they’re not me. I felt him leave me. He is gone. He can’t come back.” It was her turn to stare at the table. “So tell me, if you do not mind me asking, how did you lose your left ear?”

“Oh, hahah,” said George, relaxing. “That one’s quite a story. The details would take a while to explain. But I was in a different battle, a few months before my brother died, and  
my ear got cursed off.”

“Oh, I am sorry.”

“It’s all right. I can still hear perfectly fine. I have my hearing and I have my life. I could have lost a lot more, now that I realize it. But the trick I think is to remember what you do  
have, and to make the most of it. Especially if it’s your life. And I make the most of it. I’ve got a wife and two kids now. The kids are both off to Hogwarts.”

“And your parents and siblings, how are they all doing?”

“They’re doing great. Mum couldn’t be prouder of her grandkids. We’re all married except for Charlie, but Mum figures he’ll come around when he meets the right person. But  
they don’t always. Dad still works for the Ministry of Magic--our government--but he’ll be retiring in a year or two.”

“I see,” said Wanda, nodding as she sipped her drink.

“I send an owl to my kids every week--owls carry the post, in our world.”

“What do they learn at this school?”

“Well, everything you need to know to be a proper witch or wizard--how to use a wand, magical creatures, defending yourself against evil, Transfiguration, Charms. Haven’t you  
read the books about my friend Harry?”

“No. Who is this Harry everyone keeps talking about?”

The bell at the front door rang. The man who entered was tall with dark hair and round glasses and wore a gray business suit. 

“Here’s your answer,” said George.

The barman noticed the man entering and shouted to him across the room. “Ah, Mr. Potter! What brings ye?” Several of the people gathered at the bar and sitting across the  
room cast interested looks at Mr. Potter.

“Private business, Tom,” said the man as he closed the door. “I’ll let you know if I want anything.”

Mr. Potter walked up to the table where George and Wanda were sitting. George stood up to greet him.

“George.”

“Harry.” They embraced warmly. Then George turned Harry to face Wanda. 

“Harry, this here is Wanda--I don’t believe I caught your last name?”

“Maximoff,” Wanda said.

“Wanda Maximoff, then, she’s a new acquaintance of mine and a Muggle with a rather impressive story. Wanda, I would like you to meet Harry Potter. He was in the same year of  
school as my brother Ron and we played Quidditch together, and Harry also gave me and Fred the start-up loan for our joke shop.”

“Oh, please, George, stop,” said Harry, trying to brush him aside.

“Harry, you know I’ll forever be grateful for that. Stop trying to be so modest.”

Wanda stood to her feet and shook hands with Harry.

“How do you do?” he said. Harry had very green eyes behind his glasses. Wanda also noticed a very faint scar on his forehead--a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning.

“Well, thank you. And how do you do?” 

“I’m fine, thanks. Why don’t we sit?” He noticed the covered birdcage on the floor behind Wanda but did little more than glance at it. The three of them sat down, with Harry  
flicking his wand at a chair from the next table over so that it scooted across the floor of its own accord--and he did it with practiced ease. 

“Can I get you anything to drink, Harry?” asked George.

“Nah, I’m fine,” said Harry. 

“Were you able to get off of work for this?” 

“No, as a matter of fact I had business in this part of London earlier today. I thought I might as well swing by.” He looked at Wanda. “So tell me, what is this about?”

Wanda took a deep breath. “This is not easy to explain. I am from an alternate dimension. My world is exactly like yours, but we do not exist within the same sphere. Does that make sense?”

“George has told me about his contact,” said Harry. “I’ve heard about alternate dimensions in my line of work. How did you get to this one from yours?”

“I have...I am a ‘Muggle’ with rather unusual powers. In fact, I was just telling your friend here that where I come from, they call me a witch. But I’m a different kind of witch.”

“I see.”

“But my powers can manipulate physical reality. George’s contact needed me to run an errand for him. He told me how to get to this address from my dimension. I had only to go there and to break through the barriers with my power to create a portal. That is the jist of it. Do I need to explain more?”

Harry was looking at her quizzically. “No. I think that makes sense. And it’s understandable that you’d come to the Leaky Cauldron, since it’s one of the easier access points for  
Muggles period. But what is it you came over here from your dimension to tell me?”

Sometimes it is frightening to say something because it is difficult to explain. So Wanda gathered her courage and spoke.

“The Doctor discovered a crack in space and time. It connected a place in the south of England about twenty years ago with the same place in my dimension only three years ago.  
Something from your world fell through that crack. And the Doctor came to my friends and I to see if we could find out what it was.”

“What was it?”

Wanda got off her seat, and bent down to remove the cover from the cage. Hedwig woke instantly. Her golden eyes were wide with recognition. Then as Wanda lifted the cage onto the table, Hedwig turned her head--and saw.

“Hedwig?” George gasped. Harry was speechless.

Hedwig gave several loud, chirp-like hoots. Wanda nearly lost hold of the cage, Hedwig could hardly sit still. But finally Wanda had placed it on the table.

Wanda could read the stirring emotions inside of Harry: disbelief, happiness, years of sadness boiling over and then finally being alleviated. And relief. Sweet relief.

“I don’t believe it,” said George.

Harry stretched his hand towards the door of the cage. “May I?”

“Yes,” Wanda nodded.  
Harry opened the cage door. Hedwig, though she could hardly wait to come out, let Harry reach inside first, and she climbed onto his hand. The position was normal for the owl, but Harry was shaking. He held out the owl in front of him. The commotion didn’t attract too much notice from the other patrons of the bar: in fact Wanda could have sworn it was just the four of them in the room.

“Hedwig,” he said, “is it really you?”

Hedwig gazed intently into Harry’s eyes. Wanda didn’t know if Harry could understand her, but a part of him just seemed to know. He took the owl next to his chest and wrapped his other arm around her to hug her. Hedwig leaned her head onto Harry’s shoulder.

“I don’t believe it,” said George, a kind of wonder on his face. “She died in the same battle where I lost me ear.” 

“Hedwig, I’m so glad you’re all right,” said Harry.

“She’s recovering, actually,” Wanda spoke up. “Hedwig was found by an evil organization in my dimension called Hydra. Hydra tested a drug on her that could awaken the dead against their will. It succeeded--I even know one of their human subjects.” Harry and George looked at her gravely.

“The rules about life and death are probably different where you’re from,” said George.

“Very different,” Wanda nodded.

“I would have guessed so,” said Harry. “Tell me, what else did they do to her?”  
“I do not know the details,” said Wanda. “But they ran various experiments on her. They kept her barely alive for four years in an underground laboratory. But, as you can see, she has been rescued. We have given her various medical treatments to help her recover her strength. And she’s doing nicely.” 

“She is,” said Harry, raising Hedwig on his arm. Hedwig flapped her wings. “That’s amazing,” said Harry. “Be sure to give my thanks to the Doctor, and to whoever else has helped to rescue her.”

“You are welcome,” said Wanda.

“Wanda here is part of a class of Muggles known as superheroes,” said George.

“I’ve heard of them,” said Harry.

“I am with a group of superheroes called the Avengers,” said Wanda. “The Doctor discovered the time anomaly and traced Hedwig to the lab. He called us because in recent  
months we have been fighting to stop Hydra.”

Harry nodded, but he was barely listening. He held his owl and stroked her feathers. She nibbled his fingers with her beak and crooned to him. 

“And did the Doctor know who she was?” asked George.

“I assume he did. But in my dimension apparently people have heard of Hedwig--and Harry.”

“I’m aware that I’m pretty famous in other worlds,” said Harry. “I’m pretty famous among my own people, too. Famous before I could walk and talk.”

“Yeah, I remember when Fred and I first saw you on the Hogwarts Express,” said George. “We thought it was pretty cool. I’m just glad you weren’t too much of a pighead to be friends with Ron.”

“I’m just glad Ron wanted to be friends with me,” said Harry.

Wanda wondered if the scar on his forehead had anything to do with it.

Harry stroked the feathers on the side of Hedwig’s face. She rubbed her head against his fingers. But then she opened her eyes and looked at him. He looked back at her intently. They seemed to be communicating, saying something to each other that went beyond words.

“I was pretty upset, you know, when Hedwig died,” said Harry. “But that was the year I skipped school and went out on my own to fight Voldemort. I couldn’t have taken her with me. And you know, even though I’m happy she’s alive, I still found closure after her death. My family has a pretty decent owl.”

George looked agog at Harry. “Harry, are you mad?”

“No, I’m pretty sure this is what Hedwig wants,” said Harry, lowering her. “And I know this is what I want. Knowing that she is alive and safe and happy is everything to me,” he said to Wanda. “And it is enough. You can take her from me.”

“But--the Doctor and my friends,” said Wanda. “We were of the opinion that you might want her back. Or that you would at least know what to do with her?”

Harry looked at George. “I dunno, mate. Do you know anyone who needs an owl?”

“Not off the top of my head,” said George. “We could just run her down to Eyelops’.”

“Yeah, we could,” said Harry.

“Could you just take her?” said Wanda. “She doesn’t belong in our world.”

“Yes, she doesn’t,” said Harry. “But in our world, people don’t unnaturally come back from the dead. It’s not that I’m afraid of that, but I want the best for Hedwig. She wouldn’t  
fit in here either--in fact, she may find a better place with you.”

“Me? No, I cannot take care of an owl.”

“Well, find someone who can,” Harry shrugged. “I think Hedwig may have someone in mind.”

Wanda read Hedwig’s mind. It is all right, the owl said to her. This is what Harry and I both want. I’d never fit with the other owls back here.

But who do you want to go to? Wanda asked her.

Hedwig hooted at her. 

“Are you sure about this?” Wanda asked Harry.

“I am. This is the right thing to do.” He stroked Hedwig’s feathers tenderly. “I’ll still miss her, I think. But I thank you for bringing her to me. Just find someone who’ll take good  
care of her for me.” He hugged Hedwig one more time. 

Hedwig was going to miss Harry, too. But at least she had been able to see him again.

Carefully, Harry placed Hedwig back in the cage.

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to carry her back,” said Wanda.

“I know,” said Harry. “But you got her this far, didn’t you?”

Wanda moved to place the cover back over Hedwig’s cage, but Harry asked her to wait until after she’d left the inn.

“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Harry said to Wanda, shaking her hand again. “And thank you so much for everything. You will look after her, won’t you?”

“I will see what I can do,” said Wanda.

“You don’t have to keep her as a pet, or anything,” said Harry. “But she likes you. So keep an eye on her. And find someone who will give her a home.”

Wanda wasn’t sure she could promise Harry anything. “All right,” she said.

“Well, give my regards to the Doctor,” said George as he shook hands with Wanda in farewell. “And Wanda, don’t forget what I told you earlier. I enjoyed meeting you as well.”

Wanda finally let go of his hand. “Well, goodbye.” 

“Take care,” said Harry. “Goodbye, Hedwig.”

At least this time he got to say goodbye.

Wanda picked up the cage and carried it out of the inn. Wanda didn’t care for more than a glance backward to see George taking Harry over to the bar for a drink, but Hedwig looked back the whole way.


	9. The Captain's Order

The portal that Wanda had created was still open. As far as she knew, nothing else had come through it. She stepped through, and she had barely gone beyond it when it collapsed on itself. She looked behind herself and saw nothing there.

She placed the cover over Hedwig’s cage and started to walk back up Charing Cross road towards the underground. The police were still parked at the cafe across the street. The journey through the underground was as uneventful going to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s office as it had been coming from there.

But Wanda had not been planning to be taking a birdcage with the bird still inside it on the way back. What were they going to do now? They had counted on the Potter guy knowing what to do with her. She guessed the Doctor would have to settle it.

When she arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D.’s British headquarters, she found Coulson, the Doctor, Vision, Hillary, and Agent Darrell in a conference call with Steve back in the States in one of the meeting rooms. When she entered, Darrell was talking. Everyone else gave her looks of astonishment when they saw the covered cage. Hillary looked thunderstruck.

“And as a matter of fact, Cap, we’re going to have to call you back later,” said Coulson, cutting off Agent Darrell. “We just had something come up.”

“All right, then” said Steve. Hillary turned off the Skype.

Wanda placed the cage on the table and removed the cover.

“So did you know that Hydra attacked me--” Wanda began.

“Yes,” said Coulson. “The attackers are in police custody--well, four of them. Apparently you killed two. But what happened?

“Mr. Potter said it would be best if she remained in our world,” said Wanda.

“WHAT?” Hillary blurted.

“Agent,” Coulson snapped.

“Sorry, boss. But…” Hillary gaped her mouth like a fish, opening and closing as she struggled for words. “Harry...didn’t want her?” 

Wanda didn’t know what to say to this. 

“Well, that actually isn’t surprising,” said the Doctor. “She would not have fit in very well with the other owls. And plus she’s getting along in years, I mean, who knows how long -  
\- “

“Doctor, zip it,” said Coulson.

“Director, one does not simply tell the Doctor to zip it,” said Agent Darrell. “But Potter didn’t want his owl back? Is that what I’m hearing?”

“He said that his family already has an owl, and plus, he’s moved on since Hedwig’s death,” Wanda said. “I don’t know how to explain this to you. But Potter said it was for the   
best.” 

She looked over at Vision.

“That must have taken a lot of courage, to say no to her,” said Vision thoughtfully. “But Harry is older and wiser now, than he was in the books. It was his decision, so we should respect it.”

“But--how?” asked Coulson. “I mean, did he ask us to do anything for her?” 

“He only asked that Hedwig be found a good home.”

“Well, then, that shouldn’t be too hard,” said Coulson. He was secretly pleased that the owl had returned, but he was trying hard not to show it. 

“The only trick is making sure that nobody finds out about Hedwig,” said Hillary. “Or at least as few people as possible. If the fandom found out that one of the most unpopular   
deaths in the Harry Potter books had been reversed they’d go ballistic.”

“Darrell, do you know of any bird or wildlife sanctuaries that could take her in?” asked Coulson.

“Quite the contrary, Director,” said Darrell. “A victim of Hydra’s experiments does not belong in an animal sanctuary.”

“I thought this was why animal rescues existed,” said Coulson, “as a place for animals that were rescued from human experiments and abuse.”

“It’s a security risk,” said Darrell. “And it’s against S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol and British wildlife regulations.”

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s protocols have been rewritten since I became director. Hillary, look this up. We could give her to anyone--anywhere. There’ll be no questions asked.”

“No, Coulson, he’s actually right,” said Hillary, scrolling through something she’d looked up on her phone. “The S.H.I.E.L.D. protocols for animal rescues have not changed--  
donating experimented subjects to outside parties would be a liability.”

“Well, we could change them, I’m just saying,” said Coulson. “Or we could find someplace else for her.” 

“Could we release her into the wild?” asked Vision.

“No,” said Hillary. “I mean, it’s not that Hedwig can’t take care of herself, I mean, she’s a good hunter and all that. But S.H.I.E.L.D. protocols also prohibit releasing experiment   
subjects into the wild. Besides, Hedwig was bred for human contact.”

“Doctor, would you be willing to take her?” asked Agent Darrell.

“No,” said the Doctor firmly. “If I picked up every orphaned animal that got lost in cross dimensions the T.A.R.D.I.S. would be a menagerie.”

“Do you know a place in another world or another dimension where she could go, then?” Coulson knew what his responsibility was--to make sure the owl was taken in by the   
right people.

“Well, no,” said the Doctor. “Owls are an earth species. She couldn’t belong anywhere else. But if she doesn’t go back to the Wizarding world--then you’ve got me.”

Wanda looked at Hillary. 

Hillary looked like she would have taken Hedwig if she could. But she shook her head. “My apartment doesn’t allow pets. And my parents couldn’t keep her for me. I’m sorry.” Hillary sighed. “It’s your call, boss.” 

Coulson rubbed his forehead. “What are we going to do?”

“Well--why not let Hedwig decide?” said the Doctor. Everyone looked at him. “Just throwing it out there.” 

“You are quite right, Doctor,” said Vision. “The owl has the right to choose her own fate. Hydra took that away from her.”

“Miss Maximoff, you can read the owl’s mind,” said the Doctor. “What does she want?”

Wanda looked at Hedwig. Hedwig had been preening herself while the others were debating. But now Hedwig looked at Wanda. And then she looked across the room at Coulson.   
Coulson was looking back at her. Wanda thought she could sense the same mind-to-mind, heart-to-heart expression between them that Wanda had seen earlier between Hedwig   
and Harry.

“Hedwig wants to go with Coulson,” said Wanda.

“What?” Coulson looked at Wanda, startled. He had a deeper connection with that bird than anyone else in the room except for Wanda. And yet he kept telling himself no.

“That is what she chooses.”

“What, she wants me to own her?”

“Well, don’t you want that?” Wanda walked towards Coulson.

“Well, who doesn’t?” said Coulson. “But I can’t possibly take her. Owls are expensive pets. And besides, my landlord doesn’t allow pets either.”

“They do now,” said Wanda. “You’re the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., you can get him to make an exception.”

“Her, actually,” said Coulson. He looked at the owl. Hedwig was staring back at him. She was pleading for him to take her--in fact she would be very sad if he said no.

Wanda looked at Coulson. There was nothing else she could say to persuade him.

Coulson wanted to relent. But he said, “Let’s take her with us to America. Cap will decide what to do with her.”

“I dunno, Coulson,” said Hillary. “Cap’s not gonna like this.”

“Have you not told him?” asked Wanda.

“No,” said Coulson. “He’s more concerned about the people we captured. Agent Darrell and his team will handle the interrogations, so we’re going back tomorrow on the   
T.A.R.D.I.S.. We’ll bring her with us.”

Wanda wasn’t sure that Steve would respond favorably to Hedwig. He didn’t like surprises of this nature.

 

The Doctor didn’t like the idea of not telling Steve in advance about Hedwig, but he agreed that he would help persuade the Captain to let Coulson keep her, if he needed persuading. Hillary and Coulson went back to the Battersea police station to do interrogations for the remainder of the afternoon. The Doctor hung around S.H.I.E.L.D.’s office.   
Kellor and Grayson hadn’t taken down Hedwig’s pen in the lab yet, so Wanda returned her there. Wanda and Vision hung out in the lab and watched her, but Hedwig occasionally shot reproachful glances at Wanda. Didn’t Coulson want her?

They Skyped again with Steve, Sam, and Rhodey back at the Avengers headquarters later in the day. Natasha and Mitch had scouted out the Hydra base in Mexico as much as they could and were preparing to return home the next day. 

The next day at four in the afternoon, Coulson and his entourage boarded the T.A.R.D.I.S. to return to Corinth. And they brought Hedwig with them. Only this time, she wasn’t in a cage.

“Hedwig doesn’t want to be in cages anymore,” Wanda told them. So Agent Kellor prepared a leather glove for Wanda on which Hedwig could perch when they were taking her from place to place. It didn’t match her Avengers’ uniform. 

When they were in the sitting room of the T.A.R.D.I.S., Hedwig flew from Wanda’s gauntlet to perch on a bureau on the wall. She preened herself. 

Hillary pressed Wanda for details about her meeting with Harry Potter and George Weasley. She specifically wanted to know about what Harry was doing with his life and about his family, but there were few details that Wanda could give her--he hadn’t really mentioned any of that.

“That’s just so messed up, that you got to meet Harry Potter and you didn’t even know who he was,” Hillary said. “I just wish I had been with you.”

“He didn’t seem like anyone special to me,” said Wanda, shrugging.

“But I think it was very wise of Harry,” said Vision, “that he decided to let Hedwig decide her own fate. We don’t always let other people do what they want, much less respect their choices.”

“You’re telling me,” said Hillary. “When Bucky lived with my family I kept trying to tell him that he needed to go back to Steve--but no. That wasn’t what he wanted.”

“And what did he want?” asked Wanda.

“I guess to just let us be his family.”

“Yes, I suppose Mr. Barnes has turned out to be the proverbial horse to water,” the Doctor said. “I remember when I helped him, about a year ago. He wanted to find some way of restoring his memories--but that didn’t mean he wanted to be the person he’d been before. Humans are frustrating, sometimes. I suppose I should go check to see if we’ve arrived.” The Doctor left the sitting room.

Hillary looked at Coulson. “What was that about?”

“We have reached our destination,” the Doctor called from the control room.

Coulson and Hillary would have liked to press the Doctor for more details about what he had just revealed, but now clearly wasn’t the time--at least that was what Wanda could tell. Strange, that the Doctor would have seen the Captain’s friend but never mentioned it to them sooner, or even never come to find him and tell him about it. All of them got up and started to carry their luggage out of the sitting room and into the control room while the Doctor finished calibrating the instruments for their landing. Vision took Wanda’s suitcase while Wanda carried out Hedwig on her arm.

At the Doctor’s word, the five of them filed up the metal stairs and out of the T.A.R.D.I.S.. They emerged onto the green lawn in front of the Avengers’ base. It was eleven-thirty in the morning local time. Wanda was about to pull out her phone and text Steve to tell him they’d arrived, but then she looked up and saw Steve and Sam standing near the back door. They were both in their uniforms, and Cap’s shield was hanging on his back. Wanda had a glimpse of War Machine flying nearby. 

“Ah, Captain!” the Doctor called.

“Cap!” Coulson shouted. 

Steve and Sam looked over their shoulders to the approaching party. 

“Oh, I thought you wouldn’t be here until later,” said Sam.

Steve made a call over his radio for Rhodey to land. Sam and Steve walked towards the Doctor, Coulson, Hillary, Vision, and Wanda. Sam hardly noticed the owl perched on Wanda’s arm. But Steve furrowed his brow with a mix of curiosity and suspicion--Wanda knew that look way too well for someone who had been working with Steve only a few months. It could be a portent of anger to follow. Hedwig flapped and stretched her wings, tugging at Wanda’s glove.

Rhodey landed behind Sam and popped up his visor. Steve had gone a few paces ahead and shook hands with Coulson.

“So how was the trip?” Steve asked, not conveying any particular emotion.

“It was...not my most enjoyable trip to England, to be honest,” said Coulson, shrugging. “We had some unexpected events turn up.” He glanced over his shoulder at Hedwig.

“What’s with the owl?”

Coulson hesitated. “We’d better go inside.”

Steve patted Coulson around the shoulder. They walked side by side into the Avengers’ base with the others following. Sam asked Hillary for more details about the trip. The   
Doctor asked Rhodey what he, Sam, and Steve had been up to. Wanda and Vision followed in the rear and remained silent. Perched on Wanda’s hand, Hedwig’s head swiveled 

back and forth repeatedly, her eyes taking in the sights around her.

“Welcome to America,” Wanda said to her quietly.

 

“Are Romanoff and Mitch back yet?” Coulson asked as they entered the Avengers’ facility.

“They’re a few hours out,” said Steve. “But they’ve agreed to a briefing meeting as soon as they arrive.”

“Well, before they get here,” said Coulson, “there’s something I need to explain.” He looked back and noticed that the owl was looking at him at the exact same moment. Wanda   
was watching him, too. 

“What?”

“You may want to find a room...a place to sit.”

“Is this something to do with the owl?” said Steve.

“Yes.” He bit his lip. He knew Cap wasn’t going to take this very well. “Did you read the Harry Potter books, Captain?”

“Yes. And I’ve seen the movies. What about them?”

The group walked up the stairs to an open hallway. “Well...come to find out that the spacetime rip that the Doctor discovered connected with one of the scenes in the seventh   
book--specifically the one where Hedwig dies.”

“Hedwig?”

“Yes, and well...apparently Hedwig fell through it, cage and all. And she was found by Hydra in our dimension.”

“What?” Steve stopped walking and looked at Coulson. Rhodey and Vision walked right past them. But Sam, Wanda, and Hillary had stopped to watch the confrontation. The   
Doctor lingered behind them, watching uncomfortably.

“Is this the same cage that the Doctor found?” 

“The very same. The DNA match confirmed it. Four years ago, Hydra tested the T96 on Hedwig’s dead body to see if she would come back to life--and it worked.” They all   
looked at Hedwig, who hooted and flapped her wings. Wanda had to hold her arm out to avoid one of the owl’s wings hitting her in the face.

Steve looked at Hedwig. Anger and revulsion were written all over his face. True, these were emotions he normally reserved for Hydra. Coulson had heard it from Fury that Steve’s temper after he’d found out what Hydra had done to Bucky had been a sight to behold. But maybe that had been exaggeration. Maybe this wasn’t even close. Maybe Coulson didn’t want to know what that had been like. But he had a bad feeling he was going to find out.

“Yeah, I know,” said Coulson. But before he could say anything further, the Captain found his tongue and lashed out.

“But what is she doing here?” Steve asked. He didn’t yell, but he looked like he was breathing fire.

Coulson suffered a minor heartbreak every time he heard about Cap getting mad at someone. It hurt worse that he was seeing it in person, and that he was the intended victim. But he knew what Emily Bridger would have said: in a situation like this, Steve reacted out of confusion and hurt.

“Look, we tried--the Doctor figured that Wanda would know how to break interdimensional barriers. We sent Wanda to the Leaky Cauldron, that Wizarding pub in London. We arranged for her to meet with Harry and everything. But Harry--he said he didn’t need her back. And he didn’t think she would fit very well in his world anymore.”

“He didn’t want her back?” Of course something like that wouldn’t make sense to Steve.

“It was mutual,” Wanda spoke up. Hedwig was looking at Steve. 

Steve only briefly made eye contact with the owl, refusing to believe that he had to deal with this.

“Well, why didn’t you leave her in England?” 

“Because S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol prohibits giving rescued animals that were tested illegally to wildlife sanctuaries, or releasing them into the wild. We haven’t entirely figured out   
what to do with her yet.”

“Well, I should say you haven’t,” said Steve. He looked at the Doctor. Coulson felt like Steve was bursting to say something mean that he would regret later--that the Doctor   
should be ashamed of himself for just standing there. “And how about you? You didn’t have any bright ideas about what to do with her?”

The Doctor mouthed wordlessly before he took a deep breath and responded to the challenge. “This is strictly an affair in your dimension, Captain,” said the Doctor. “Her former owner did not want her back, and according to Wanda, Hedwig herself felt it was for the best. I believe we should allow the owl to decide her own fate. But Coulson insisted that we show deference to you in this matter.”

Coulson was now beginning to wish that he hadn’t done that. But it was either this or face Steve’s wrath later. 

Steve looked like he was starting to cool down a little. “I’ll hear you out on this. I want you two to explain to me what’s been going on. But I can’t believe you didn’t tell me anything when you were over there.” He turned down the hallway and started to walk towards one of the meeting rooms. The people who passed them in the hallway gave curious and anxious looks at the Captain and his entourage.

“Captain, for the record, you were more concerned about Hydra,” Hillary spoke up. “And we didn’t have all the information yet about Hedwig. We thought for sure we could get rid of her.” 

Hedwig looked between the Captain, Coulson, and Hillary.

“Well, even Hedwig wasn’t sure what she wanted,” said Wanda. 

“Well, you’ve got her now,” said Steve. He opened the door to one of the conference rooms and showed them in.

Sam was the last to enter.

“Sam, I want you in the hanger when Natasha arrives. And I need you to tell the guys I want to have a meeting at 1500.”

Sam put a hand to Steve’s shoulder. “Bro, you’re overreacting to this, just calm down.”

“I have this completely under control,” said Steve in an undertone.

“Bro, you don’t,” said Sam. “You think you do.” Sam turned and left in a huff.

“Agent Tanner, I want you and Wanda to take the owl to the lab,” said Steve.

“What?” said Hillary. She had taken a seat at the table, but she stood up.

“This is between me, Coulson, and the Doctor,” Steve clarified. “And I don’t want to see that bird again until we’ve figured out what to do with her.

Most Harry Potter fans were sentimental about Hedwig. Clearly Steve wasn’t one of them.

“Whatever you say,” said Hillary, looking away from him as she walked out of the room. Wanda did make eye contact with Steve, however. So did Hedwig. They were both worried.

Steve and Hillary’s friendship had survived worse, Coulson reckoned. But maybe Steve had just about had it. But if it was between Cap, the Doctor, and himself, then Coulson would make sure that Steve’s quarrel stayed with him and didn’t go out to Hillary unfairly. And it wasn’t, he felt. Steve was over Hillary’s betrayal of him earlier that year. He wasn’t out to find further fault with her. At least not over this. 

Why am I overanalyzing this? Coulson asked himself. 

He wished that Steve had let Wanda stay in the room so she could give her side of the story. Steve pressed the Doctor and Coulson both for exacting details about how they had found the owl, treated her, and settled the question of her identity. Steve was actually more sympathetic when he heard that Wanda had been attacked on Charing Cross Road on account of the owl. And he was pleased to hear about how well she had handled it. But he was hardly pleasant when he got down to discussing with Coulson and the Doctor about who had the right to decide the owls’ fate.

“This was your idea in the first place,” Steve said, glaring at the Doctor. “You came to us for help. We got your owl away from Hydra. You can take her. I don’t want anything to do with this.”

“Quite the contrary, Captain,” said the Doctor calmly. “This affair does not concern me any longer. I just protect space and time. I don’t find homes for unwanted owls. I cannot take her anywhere else. There is no better place for her in the universe than here.”

Steve looked at Coulson, now not because he was angry, but because he was running out of options.

“S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn’t have a place for her,” said Coulson. “We’re an intelligence service.”

“But how about you personally?” said Steve. “I understand that you’re a big fan of Harry Potter.”

“Anyone would love to take care of Hedwig, I’m sure,” said Coulson. “It’s just a lot of time and money and I don’t have that--well, nobody has that. Not at S.H.I.E.L.D., anyway.   
It’s up to you, Cap. I’m all for whatever you decide.”

“It was my understanding,” the Doctor spoke up, “that the owl is capable of making her own decisions.”

Steve looked at him. “I don’t need her to be around to draw attention from Hydra. And she’s going to.”

Either Coulson was over-thinking or he could guess what was on Steve’s mind.

“You’re not going to euthanize her, are you?”

“I’ve got half a mind to.”

“She’s not a risk. Hydra doesn’t have half the resources it did a year and a half ago,” said Coulson.

“They’re getting stronger.”

“You have no proof of that.”

“No, he’s quite right,” said the Doctor. “This is not a decision to be made lightly, Captain, if you are going to take it upon yourself.”

Steve looked from Coulson to the Doctor and back again. “The team and I will decide what’s best for her. You guys are more than welcome to wait around.”

Coulson shrugged. “I’ve got nothing better to do.”

The Doctor shook his head. “I don’t have all day. I suppose I can leave and come right back.” 

The three of them exited the room. The Doctor went back towards the main entrance while Coulson and Steve went to the hangar. An announcement came over the PA system that the jet from Mexico had just arrived. 

Neither of them spoke while on their way to the hangar. Coulson didn’t want this to become an issue between him and Cap. He cared for the owl, and he didn’t want Steve to hurt her, even if for misguided reasons. But on the other hand, Steve’s reasoning was sound. He was usually a little paranoid when it came to Hydra, but Hydra was the kind of evil with which they couldn’t afford to take any risks.

The jet had landed in the hanger. Hillary was hugging Mitch, who had a few cuts on his face and looked a little tan. Vision, Sam, and Rhodey were conversing with Natasha, but strangely there was no sign of Wanda. Steve shook hands with Mitch and hugged Natasha as though nothing was wrong.

“Where’s Wanda?” Natasha asked, looking around.

“She’s in the lab,” said Hillary. “I couldn’t get her to leave.”

“Is she all right?” asked Natasha.

“Oh, she’s all right,” said Sam. “She’s just a little worked-up, though. Over an owl.”

“Here, let me help you carry that,” said Hillary, picking up Natasha’s bag.

“Thanks, honey, so how was England?”

“Great. Just great,” said Hillary. She gave a few details about the Hydra case. Coulson figured she was waiting for the right moment to tell Natasha about Hedwig. He knew Nat   
had seen the Potter films at least once, but wasn’t sure if she’d read the books.

“Nat, we’re having a team meeting at 1500,” said Steve. “Can you make it?”

“Sure,” said Natasha.

 

Natasha and Hillary walked to the locker rooms so Natasha could deposit her bags. Since Hillary wouldn’t be at the meeting, Natasha told her about Mexico and working with Mitch there. Natasha complained that Mitch was whiney and a pansy.

“Well, that’s not surprising,” Hillary responded as Natasha washed her hands in the locker room sink. “Yeah, it’s too bad he’s not as qualified as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the good old days. But he’s learning.”

“And I do have to hand it to that kid,” said Natasha as she wiped her hands. “He’s not half the greenhorn he was when Barton and I met him in Arizona. He keeps cool under fire, I like that. And he’s a fast learner. But as for his morality and his politics,” Natasha gave a snort of laughter. “I’ve never met anyone more different from me. He’s loyal to Captain America to a fault--and Cap isn’t perfect.”

“It’s not news to me. Well, I hope Mitch has learned a few things from you--not just about politics, mind you.” 

“So when did you get back from London?” asked Natasha, folding her arms.

“Just this morning,” said Hillary. “A little while before you did.”

“That was a quick trip. How did you get there?”

“This...guy showed up with a time machine. You know the show Doctor Who?”

“The Doctor?” said Natasha, raising her eyebrows.

“What, you know him?”

“Budapest.”

“I see,” said Hillary. Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff had been on a legendary assignment in Budapest years and years ago--but no one seemed to know what had happened   
there. Even the S.H.I.E.L.D. records about the incident were sketchy. She shouldn’t have been surprised.

“So what did he want?” asked Natasha.

“He said he’d found a spacetime crack that had let something in, and he traced it to a secret lab being run by Hydra,” said Hillary. 

“And what did you find?”

“Well, we found the lab, but--well, I think I should take you upstairs.”

 

Wanda had been so absorbed with attending Hedwig that she hadn’t noticed when the intercom announced Natasha’s return. The other lab techs were enamored with the owl. Even Maria Hill stopped by to see her, and Hedwig had let her stroke her feathers. Hedwig was responding very well to the positive treatment. One of Doctor Cho’s assistants had found a lab mouse for Hedwig to eat. Wanda was watching her finish it off when the main door to the laboratory opened, and Hillary and Natasha entered.

“Natasha!” Wanda exclaimed.

“Wanda, why weren’t you in the hanger?”

“I was...I’m just glad to see you.” Wanda got up and hugged Natasha. It was good to have her friend back. 

Natasha noticed the snowy owl on the lab table. “So what’s happening? What’s with the owl.”

Wanda led Natasha and Hillary over to the lab table. “Natasha, this is Hedwig.”

“Hedwig?”

“Yes. She was an owl that Hydra found dead in southern England. They revived her with the T96 serum--the same thing they later used on Coulson.”

Natasha put her hands on her hips. “You’re taking this rather calmly. Is the owl from the Harry Potter books?”

“I’m afraid it is,” said Hillary. “And Wanda’s powers can break through interdimensional barriers. So she got to take Hedwig on a special trip to the Leaky Cauldron. She met Harry Potter and she didn’t even know who he was!”

“Wait--he didn’t want her back?” Natasha said, raising an eyebrow.

“Is...complicated,” said Wanda. She checked the clock on the back wall. “And I think Steve will want me to explain it to you and the others at the meeting.”

“That’s right, it’s almost time,” said Natasha.

She and Wanda turned to leave.

“Oh, and Hillary,” said Wanda, “if you do not have anything to do, you could stay with Hedwig, if you liked.”

“What?” Hillary watched Natasha and Wanda leave. “She’s an owl!” she complained to the door. “She doesn’t need company. And besides!” Hillary looked around. The lab techs were all preoccupied at that moment with their usual tasks. 

Hedwig bent her head at Hillary.

“Well, I don’t mind, really,” said Hillary. She sat down on the stool besides the lab table that Wanda had vacated.

 

The Avengers assembled for their meeting at 1500.

Natasha gave her report first. She turned on the room’s projector and pulled up a map and diagram of the Hydra base that she and Mitch had scouted in Mexico. It was heavily defended, she explained, with mines in the fields surrounding and heavy artillery around the building. They had counted about four hundred guards, and they were all housed inside the facility. The locals kept their distance, and the entrance where supply trucks and other vehicles went in and out had a heavily secured gate. Natasha briefly took questions from her peers. Captain Rogers declared they would study the defenses and wait to take action.

“And now,” said Steve, folding his hands in front of him on the table, “Vision and Wanda will give their report about their trip to London. Now, to fill you in Natasha, two days after you left, the Doctor showed up with a request for help. The Doctor is--”

“I know who he is, sir,” said Natasha. “We’ve met.”

Steve was expressionless. The other four Avengers exchanged stunned looks.

“Very well, then,” said Steve. Steve told Natasha about the cage that the Doctor had found. He then called on Wanda and Vision to speak. Taking turns, they told the story about the trip to London and the Hydra base they had destroyed.

“And then there was the owl we found,” said Vision. “The owl is--”

“I already know who the owl is,” said Natasha. “Or at least, who you think she is. Do you have any proof?”

“She responds to the name Hedwig,” said Wanda. 

“With the evidence of the owl’s circumstances, the conclusion is logical,” said Vision. “The owl came through the time crack in the place where Harry Potter was attacked by the   
Death Eaters as he was leaving Privet Drive.”

“What state was she in when you found her?” asked Steve.

Wanda spoke about how she and Vision had found the owl in an induced coma and malnourished from Hydra’s experiments. Agents Kellor and Grayson had confirmed that Hedwig had been treated by Hydra with various drugs--Wanda did not know the specifics, but Steve was not surprised. This was the kind of thing that Hydra did on a regular basis. That, coupled with the fact that the owl had been in a secure lab space, proved that she was a valuable Hydra asset. It wasn’t hard for him to start feeling sympathy for the owl.

Wanda also told Steve and the others about the decision to send Hedwig back to her own dimension and the attack on Charing Cross Road. Talking about Hedwig’s reunion with her former master was a little harder. Wanda could feel herself choking up a little.

“Have you read the books, Wanda?” Steve asked.

“No, I haven’t,” said Wanda, straightening herself and trying to look professional. “It’s just...I can read the owl’s mind. I know what this meant to her.”

“Question,” said Sam, “but how did you arrange to have a meeting with Harry Potter in the first place.”

“Well, the Doctor had a contact in...that dimension who knew how to get hold of Mr. Potter.”

“Who?” asked Rhodey.

“A man by the name of George Weasley.”

“You don’t say,” said Sam. “Is he doing all right, after his brother dying and all?”

“Wilson,” said Steve, giving Sam an elbow in the ribs.

“Yes, he is fine,” said Wanda.

“To continue,” said Steve, “Why did Harry not take her back?”

“Harry said that he had moved on after Hedwig’s death,” said Wanda. “It consoled him, to know she was alive, but he did not see any need to keep her.”

Steve was mentally struggling to wrap his head around the explanation, but outwardly he made no response.

“Harry and George discussed the options. They concluded that there was no place in their world for an owl who had been brought back to life with Hydra’s science. And what was   
more, Hedwig agreed with him. She is perfectly willing to make a new life here.”

“So then the Doctor and Coulson decided that they couldn’t keep her in England?” said Steve.

“That is correct.”

“And you brought her here.”

“Yes. She is still in the lab.”

“Thank you, Wanda,” said Steve gravely. He took a deep breath. “So that leaves the question. What do we do with the owl? I’m not going to keep her here.”

“No one said you had to, Cap,” said Sam. “S.H.I.E.L.D. can take care of her.”

“No, S.H.I.E.L.D. can’t do that, either,” said Natasha. 

“Exactly,” said Steve. He braced himself, and then he spoke. “Now, I know this is going to sound harsh to all of you Potterheads, but having Hedwig around is a liability. From   
what Wanda told me about her fight on Charing Cross Road, they may want her back--if they know about her. So I’m afraid that to best protect our interests, as well as Hedwig herself, I think it’s best that we euthanize her.”

“No!” gasped Wanda.

“You can’t, Captain,” said Vision.

“I need you to explain your reasoning, Cap,” said Natasha. “How is this not personal?”

“This is Hydra we’re talking about,” he said, adjusting his posture in his seat. “They found Hedwig before the battle of New York, they tested the T96 on her. They used it to bring back Coulson behind our backs, Nat. I won’t have her around. I won’t have anything to do with it.”

According to Steve, everything that Hydra did was tainted. Evil. True, he did not see Wanda in that light. But he did not make exceptions for Hedwig--as much as he would have liked to.

“If this is about the T96, Steve, then it is personal,” said Natasha. “They used it on your friend, but that was long before they ever found this bird. This is completely different.”  
“Yes, but look at what they did to him with it,” said Steve. “He should have died, but instead that ...poison lengthened his life longer than it had to be. And it only kept him alive to suffer. Hedwig was brought back to life only for the same reason--to be another victim of their twisted experiments. I don’t want to see anyone else have to go through the same thing--or even an animal have to do that. Hedwig doesn’t need to be alive. Do you know how unfair it is, to know that someone you knew and loved didn’t die in peace but continued to live in pain?” He looked at the five of them, daring them to contradict him. “Well, I do.”

This only validated Natasha’s opinion that Steve needed to see a therapist.

“So that’s your decision, is it?” said Vision, an unusual coolness in the android’s voice.

“Well, what do you suggest?”

“For one thing, we should not even be considering putting her down,” said Vision. “Hedwig’s death was a tragedy to many, yes. That she was found by Hydra and revived, it is unfortunate. But now she has been freed and set to rights. The techs at the British S.H.I.E.L.D. lab are of the opinion that, barring future complications from the after effects of the drugs she was treated with, she could live a normal and happy life. And you dare to suggest taking that opportunity away from her because of your petty grudge against Hydra, to spite them. That is murder, Captain. You are not a murderer--except where Hydra is concerned.”

Steve glared at Vision, stung by the insult.

“Your sentiments are understandable, Captain,” said Vision. “What they did to your friend Sergeant Barnes was deplorable, and was meant not only to be an insult to him but to you as well. But you do not have to retaliate, Captain. You do not want your friend to die, because he has had an unhappy life since being captured by Hydra and you want to   
spare him further misery, is that correct?”

“No,” said Steve. 

“Exactly. You want to protect the former Winter Soldier because he is your friend, and you believe there is still goodness within him, enough that he deserves to be helped and given a second chance at life. Hedwig the owl is much the same. If she were dying because of Hydra’s tortures, if there had been no hopes of rescuing her, then by all means, end her suffering. But Hedwig has been revived. She has a fair chance at living a happy life now. We should not end it. Because now that she is free, Hedwig has the potential to do much good in the world--if not for her own dimension, then for ours. She may yet prove of some use to you.

“And Captain, it is my understanding that you have also read the Lord of the Rings. You should remember the words of Gandalf, that you should not be too eager to deal out judgment in matters of life and death. Some people die too soon and some live too long. Some die and come back and are perfectly well, but others are better left at peace. You can never see the outcomes of these matters. You know this to be true. We cannot always decide when life begins and ends, but you should not seek to control it. If Hedwig is now alive, then let her live. It would be ill to take that life away from her.”

Sam Wilson looked at Vision and nodded. “Well said.”

“But is there an actual risk in keeping Hedwig alive?” said Natasha. “I mean, is Hydra really going to go after her to get her back? We have no proof that they knew about her outside of the British lab. We have no idea if they were in contact with other cells of Hydra or not.”

“I imagine that as your old team knocked down other parts of Hydra earlier this year,” said Rhodey, “they may have destroyed whatever evidence was shared.”

“Hedwig comes across to me as Dr. Middlestone’s pet project,” said Sam. “No pun intended.

“I think if we needed to we could keep Hedwig well protected,” said Natasha. “But I think Vision’s right,” said Natasha. “And if Rhodey and Sam are right, then Hydra doesn’t know about her. That could be an advantage.”

“In what? How is using an old-fashioned messenger owl faster than email or texting?”

“It’s not faster, but they won’t be expecting it,” said Natasha. She gave Steve a smile. It was a game to her.

“If you’re suggesting we use her, the answer is no,” said Steve. “And if you want to keep her as a trophy or a pet, the answer is still no.”

“You really like saying no to me,” said Natasha. “But here’s why I think you should say yes: Hedwig has a chance to start a new life. Away from the torture of Hydra. We shouldn’t take that away from her. I know how that feels--to be used for something you don’t want. And you came pretty close to being shipped to Alamogordo instead of selling war bonds.”

“Well, we’re not making Hedwig a dancing monkey, either.” 

“I wasn’t suggesting that,” said Natasha.

“Then what were you suggesting?” asked Steve. “I want solutions, not arguments.”

“Well,” Natasha looked over at Wanda. “Wanda here can read her mind. Hedwig can decide for herself what she wants. She’s capable of making her own decisions.”

“She’s an owl.”

“She’s no ordinary owl, Rogers. I thought you read the books.”

“I thought you didn’t like Harry Potter.”

“I’ve got better things to do with my time than to read about a moody teenage wizard,” said Natasha. “But owls, on the other hand. They’re pretty cool. Let’s give it a shot, I say.”

Steve turned to Wanda. “So what do you think, if you can read her mind?”

“Hedwig has the right to choose her own life,” said Wanda. “We should not take that choice away from her. Captain, you didn’t kill me because I was a Hydra experiment.”

“That’s because I didn’t know how to kill you,” said Steve. 

“No, it was because Pietro and I realized we were wrong about Ultron. We showed you that we could do good things with our powers, help people. Think of that.”

Steve looked at the table.

“Think of Director Coulson. He didn’t have the choice of being brought back to life. But he has made the best of it. Think of how he has helped you--helped all of us. And think of his friend Emily Bridger--your friend. She would not have wanted you to end a life just because it had been given wrongfully. Or because the person’s body or mind had been altered. Steve. You know you don’t want to kill Hedwig. I haven’t read these books, and I suppose I need to now. But I know that Hedwig will make the most of her new life. She will find a place to fit in. And if you allow her to live, she will repay you in any way she can.”

Steve blinked as he looked at the table. Then he looked at Rhodey. “Colonel Rhodes. You’ve been quiet.”

“Yeah. I’ve been thinking it over,” said Rhodey. “You guys’s arguments make a lot of sense. But I have to agree with Cap on this one. If we let Hedwig live, suppose Hydra finds out about it. What kind of crap will they think Cap can let them get away with next? Sometimes I think this zero-tolerance policy of yours goes a little too far, Cap--that’s just me being honest. But for the little things, take this owl, for instance. That’s cutting corners.

“I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan myself--I don’t really got time to read. But people coming back from the dead that shouldn’t--that’s wrong. They don’t need to come back. It’s not fair to them. It’s not fair to the living, because that takes away closure. And this isn’t a person we’re talking about--it’s an owl. I am not an advocate of animal cruelty. Especially in this crap that Hydra does. If we let Hedwig live, then we’re sending the message that we approve of it. But we put her to sleep, then we’re showing that we’ve had enough of Hydra’s nonsense. And Hedwig will be at peace. I think it works, Captain.”

Steve looked around the room. “Three in favor, two against. It comes down to you, Wilson.” He looked at Sam.

Sam looked at Steve. 

“Yeah, I don’t think it’s very fair, either, that people who are dead have to come back to life for a science experiment,” said Sam. “But if she’s alive and well, then there’s no reason to kill her. She’s perfectly happy.”

Sam leaned in a little closer to Steve. “And bro, do you remember when we listened to the Potter books on tape last summer, when we were out drivin’ looking for Bucky?”

“I do,” said Steve.

“Well, I got to thinking,” said Sam. “Those wizarding owls, they have their own kind of magic. You don’t need to get an address, most of the time, all you need is a name on the letter, and they’ll send it for you, directly to the person you’ll writing to. I’m just saying. Could be a heck of a lot of a better way to find a missing person than the way we’ve been going about it.” 

“Would it work here?”

“I dunno.” Sam shrugged and folded his arms. “This could be your chance. Take it or leave it.”

Steve exhaled. “Are you sure?”

“I’m not an expert. But you miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Steve looked down. The only thing that made it hard for him to admit to wanting to do the right thing was his own anger towards Hydra. 

It wasn’t the first time he had to learn to let it go. It wouldn’t be the last. 

He looked at Wanda. “So...what does Hedwig want to do?”

Wanda could feel Sam, Natasha, and Vision relaxing. Rhodey shrugged and contemplated texting Tony Stark about this incident. 

“Hedwig wants to go with Coulson.”

“With Coulson?” Steve said in surprise.

“Yes. Well, she feels a certain kinship towards him, you know.”

“I thought he was busy running S.H.I.E.L.D.,” said Rhodey.

“He could make it work,” said Wanda. “He just doesn’t know it yet.”


	10. In Which the Doctor Gets In Trouble

Coulson and Mitch had gone up to the lab to be with Hillary. They filled him in more informally on their adventure in London, and Mitch got to pet Hedwig a little.

“That’s just too awesome,” said Mitch, smiling as he stroked the owl’s smooth feathers. Hedwig watched him warily but glanced up occasionally at Coulson.

The doors to the lab opened, and the Doctor entered.

“I thought you’d taken off,” said Coulson.

“Well, I just figured I’d wait until there was a verdict on the owl. Are the Avengers still deliberating?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I suppose we’ll wait.” He looked at the owl with a hand on his chin. “She is a rather nice bird, I must say. I think she’ll get along well in this dimension. But the question is, where at?”

“Don’t look at me, I can’t take her,” said Hillary. “Much as I’d love to.”

They were all silent. Hedwig seemed unaware that her future was being decided at that moment. But Coulson knew otherwise.

They heard footsteps in the hall outside. The Avengers entered. Steve had placed his shield on his back. 

Coulson turned around. “So what’s the verdict, Cap?”

“Well, Wanda seems to think that the owl wants to go with you,” said Steve.

“With me?” said Coulson.

Wanda walked up to the lab table and petted Hedwig. “She likes you, Coulson. She understands you. And you understand her.”

“That’s impossible,” Coulson shook his head.  
“You are in denial,” said Wanda. “You are not the same man you were before the battle of New York. And your time with Emily Bridger taught you much. You will get along fine with Hedwig. She needs you to help her make sense of this new world. And in return, she will be your friend.”

Coulson looked at Hedwig, trying to laugh. But he stopped when he saw the look in the owl’s golden eyes. 

“But I can’t possibly take her,” said Coulson. “I live in an apartment in D.C. I’m the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I work in an office. I’m on call 24/7 running a major intelligence organization, plus helping you guys out. It’s not like I don’t already have enough to do. I couldn’t possibly--”

But he saw that Wanda was looking at him. She had her arms folded. There was no point in making excuses.

“I want the owl, okay? I’d do anything to keep her. I don’t know much about birds of prey but I can learn. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at falconry. And I haven’t had a pet in ages. S.H.I.E.L.D. gave away my cat when I died. It’s just...I don’t see how it’s gonna work.”

“Coulson, just stop,” said Hillary. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll work out just fine.”

“I suppose…” said Coulson. “I am the head of S.H.I.E.L.D.. I can get my landlady to make an exception to the no pets rule.”

“Phil, she’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. asset now,” said Steve. “There’s no one I can think of better to take care of her.” Coulson almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Had Cap really  
changed his mind?

“Do it for me, boss,” said Hillary. “We’ll help you to take care of her.” She looked at Coulson rather pleadingly. Mitch was doing the same.

Coulson gave Hedwig another look. She looked back at him steadily. She was trying to reassure him. 

It would be an impossible time commitment, on top of his duties as director. Plus the mess and the feeding would be a constant chore. 

But the things he loved the most in life were the things that he had worked for. 

Coulson sighed. And then he smiled. “How could I say no?”

“Yay!” said Hillary.

“All right,” said Natasha. 

Sam and Wanda and Rhodey clapped.

He walked over to the lab table to assume his new charge. 

“Here,” said Wanda, handing him the leather glove that Agent Kellor had given her. It was big on her, but it fit Coulson just right. 

“Come here,” he said to Hedwig. He lowered his glove onto the table. Hedwig hooted at him and climbed up his hand onto his wrist. He picked her up. She wasn’t terribly heavy-  
-but then again she still had some weight to gain back after her ordeal. He had known before that he couldn’t take care of an owl, but now it hit him that he didn’t know how to at all. A thousand questions pressed into his mind at once. But those could wait.

“I could get used to this,” he said.

“She’ll come in handy, boss,” said Hillary. “Wizarding owls have a good sense of direction and they’re great at finding people.”

“So what do you think we’ll do with her? Send secret letters sometime?” He looked at Steve.

Steve shrugged. “I wouldn’t object.”

“Or we could just send nice notes,” said Hillary. “And not just to the Avengers.”

“Nice notes, yeah, I like that,” said Mitch. “Special delivery.”

“Well, I’m her owner now, so I say when you guys can use her,” said Coulson. 

“That’s right,” said Steve. “But can I ask you one favor?”

Coulson laughed. He hefted up his arm with Hedwig on it. She stretched her wings. “I know what you’re going to ask already, Cap. You know I wouldn’t say no. Just tell me  
when.”

Steve thought for a moment. “For Christmas?”

“You’ve got it.”

“Well, I’m glad to see that’s settled,” said the Doctor. “Now if you’ll excuse me. Take care, everyone.” He cut through the small crowd gathered around Hedwig and Coulson and  
left the lab.

“Also, Coulson, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to forward me those reports from your activities in London,” said Steve. “If that isn’t too much to ask. I know you’re probably still working on them.”

“I can get you to them as soon as they’re ready,” said Coulson. “I’ll finish them when I get back to D.C. Oh, my arm’s getting tired. Let me put you back, Hedwig.” Coulson returned Hedwig to her table.

“When are you going back?”

“Tomorrow, probably,” said Coulson. “I think I’d like to catch my breath first.” He looked at Hillary. “So is she going to be able to fly again?”

“I think so,” said Hillary. “Kind of no point in having a delivery owl if she can’t wing it.”

“Well, we should take her outside and see if she goes,” said Mitch.

Wanda tapped Steve on the shoulder. He turned around. 

“Yes?”

“Er, Steve, there is something you should know,” said Wanda quietly. “When we were on the T.A.R.D.I.S., the Doctor mentioned that he’d seen Bucky.”

“What?”

“He didn’t give many details,” Wanda continued in an undertone. “But he said that he had helped him with something about a year ago.”

Steve didn’t say another word. He pushed Wanda aside without even apologizing and left the lab.

 

He caught the Doctor on the floor below in the hallway, heading back outside to where he’d parked his time machine. Steve wasn’t being entirely quiet as he walked. The Doctor heard footsteps behind him and looked back. His eyes widened and he started to run at the exact same moment Steve did.

Before the Doctor was ready to be taken, Steve yanked him backwards by the shoulder and slammed him against the wall.

“What the (expletive) are you playing at, Doc?” Steve said, breathing into the Doctor’s face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the Doctor said hurriedly, barely able to speak as the Captain crushed his throat.

“You know perfectly (expletive) well what I’m talking about. NOW WHERE IS HE?”

The Doctor’s eyebrows lifted.

“I don’t know,” the Doctor said quietly.

Steve picked the Doctor up again. “Wanda says you mentioned you saw him.”

“Look, that was over a year ago!” the Doctor said. “He came to find me of his own accord! He wanted help getting his memories back! I swear, I picked him up and then I left him  
right where I found him!”

“Where did you take him to?”

The Doctor slid down in his shirt.

“I said WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM?”

“Different places, places where he could get help. There are people across space and time who had the power to heal his mind--just a little bit. But you wouldn’t believe me if I  
told you!”

Steve slammed him against the wall. “You think this is some kind of joke, Doc? Taking my best buddy everywhere in space and time. You didn’t just drop him off or he wandered  
off and got lost somewhere? How do I know you weren’t trying to hurt him?”

“I was trying to help, I swear! I always made sure to get him back to the T.A.R.D.I.S., honestly I did!”

“Then if you found him, then why didn’t you bring him back to me? Why didn’t you just TELL me where he was when you showed up?”

“I don’t know where he is now, I swear! I left him in Minneapolis! And I wasn’t about to take him back to you against his will! He wasn’t ready for that!”

“I’ve heard that excuse before.” Steve glared at the Doctor and the Doctor positively withered.

“Captain, please. I’m a busy man. I don’t go chasing after everyone’s missing friends! I promised Mr. Barnes that I would give him the strictest confidentiality. If you want to find  
out what happened, then go ask Miss Sara Martin. I’m sure she’ll be willing to tell you.”

Steve let go of the Doctor. He caught himself on the wall to keep from falling to the floor and gagged as he fought for breath. After a moment, he looked back up at the Captain.

“Did you show him his past?” said Steve. “Does he remember me?”

The Doctor straightened himself up. “Now that I couldn’t tell you.” He continued on down the hallway as though nothing had happened.

Steve went back to the control room to confer with a member of the staff about the Mexico op. Afterward, he realized that he may have been a little harsh on the Doctor. He went  
looking for him through the entire building. Finally he came back out to the lawn where he had last seen the T.A.R.D.I.S..

It was gone. 

This is how you make enemies, Steve chided himself. There’ll probably be a big cosmic emergency and the Doctor won’t come to you for help again, because of that.

But then he heard laughter coming from behind him. Standing beyond the rise in the lawn were Coulson, Hillary, Mitch, Maria Hill, Nick Fury, and the other five Avengers. Coulson and the two Agents stood spread out with Wanda while the others hung back and watched. Steve saw a large white thing flapping around between them. Hedwig was flying. She took her time, drifting up in lazy circles becoming back to land on either the ground or on the arms of one of his friends.

Steve walked towards the group. Hedwig had landed on the ground between Coulson and Mitch, and she started to walk on her talons through the grass.

“Come here, Hedwig,” said Coulson, goading her like a dog or a child learning to walk. Hedwig bobbed her head up and down at him, and then she waddled forward on the grass  
to meet him. Then she fluttered up to the glove on his hand. “Wanna see if you can fly over to Wanda?” He looked across their circle at Wanda. “Go long!”

Wanda walked about ten yards further away from Coulson. Mitch trailed behind her. “All right!” she shouted.

“Go further!”

Wanda went another five yards. “Here?”

“That’s good.” He turned to Hedwig. “All right Hedwig, go!”

He lifted his arm and Hedwig sprang into the air. She flapped her wings several times to gain altitude. She swooped low over the grass and then turned herself upward in a circle. She kept her head bent towards the people on the ground and then came back down in a swoop towards Wanda. Wanda held out the leather sleeve of her Avengers’ uniform, and Hedwig’s talons clamped onto it.

“All right!” said Mitch.

Several of the people watching clapped.

“Well done!” said Coulson. “All right, I’m going to move a little over to the side.” He walked about twenty feet away from where he had been standing. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Hedwig launched herself from Wanda’s arm. She soared in a high arc over the ground and came back down to land on Coulson’s outstretched glove. 

“Not bad,” Steve commented.

“Do you want to give it a shot, Captain?” Coulson called over to him.

“What? Me?”

“Yes, you!” 

“Sure,” said Steve. He was wearing his uniform gloves so he thought it wouldn’t do him any harm.

Hedwig came flying over towards him. Steve held out his left hand, and after a downward glide she swooped up and landed on it. “Whoa.” She was actually bigger than she looked. Her feathers were white but streaked and mottled with black spots on her chest, wings, and the back of her head.

She looked at Steve and hooted at him.

“Hi, I’m Captain America,” he said. “It’s nice to meet you, formally.” He felt sick to his stomach. He had actually contemplated ending the owl’s life. Now he was really glad he hadn’t.

Coulson walked over to them. “How is she?”

“This is great,” said Steve. “So how strong is she?”

Coulson shrugged. “She could carry packages once. But not big or heavy ones. Schoolbooks. Birthday cakes.”

Coulson held out his gloved hand and Hedwig hopped over to him. Steve reached to his back and unbuckled his shield.

“How do you think she’d handle a ten-pound vibranium shield?”

“Er, it might be too much too soon at this point,” said Coulson. 

Hedwig swiveled her head over to look at Coulson.

“But she’s willing to try it,” Coulson added hastily.

Steve set down his shield on the ground with the straps facing up. “All right. Go for it.”

Hedwig jumped from Coulson’s hand. She landed on the inside of the shield and picked up the straps with her talons. Then she started to lift herself upward. The strap lifted the  
shield up but she couldn’t quite lift it all the way off the ground. Coulson watched her worriedly as she strained at the load. Steve was ready to call off the experiment. But then,  
the shield rose a few inches into the air. Hedwig had to flap her wings madly to stay aloft. But she could carry it.

“All right, that’s enough,” said Coulson.

Hedwig lowered the shield back to the ground. 

The small audience clapped and cheered.

“Dang, Coulson, I should’ve asked you to let me keep her,” said Steve. “I guess it’s too late.”

“Naw, she’ll be happy to work with you on occasion,” said Coulson. Hedwig jumped onto his arm and preened herself. “But she’s had enough for one day. Let’s not try that trick  
again until she’s built up her strength some more.”

 

Coulson decided to run into Corinth to get some dead mice for Hedwig to eat at the pet store--he wasn’t quite ready to let her go out hunting. He left Hedwig in Wanda’s care, and the other Avengers fawned over her. But Coulson was gone a suspiciously long amount of time in the town for such a short errand. When he finally did return, they discovered the cause: he’d picked up thirty boxes of pizza for the entire Avengers’ staff. They set up the pizzas in the hangar. Coulson mingled with the staff, catching up with Eric Selvig while chewing a slice of pepperoni and holding Hedwig on his arm.

“Are you sure you couldn’t let me borrow her sometime?” Sam Wilson asked him later. “I think I’d like to send a surprise package to Ant-Man.”

“A surprise package of what, for instance?” asked Coulson.

“Dunno. I’ll get back to you on that. Just something to let him know he’s appreciated.”

“Would Cap approve of that?”

“Cap doesn’t need to know.”

 

Steve Rogers: Hey, Sara!

Sara Martin: Cap, oh my gosh! How are you?

Steve Rogers: You can call me Steve. And I’m doing just fine. How are you?

Sara Martin: Doing great :)

Steve Rogers: :) So how’s life treating you?

Sara Martin: Couldn’t be better. Grad school’s kicking my butt right now. But I’ve got a boyfriend. He’s going to propose over Christmas, and we’re getting married next year.

Steve Rogers: That is wonderful. Congratulations. 

Sara Martin: Thank you.

Steve Rogers: I have something I want to ask you

Sara Martin: Go right ahead.

Steve Rogers: I’ve read the S.H.I.E.L.D. reports about the Minneapolis incident last year, so I know you’ve seen Bucky. I also know that you both met a guy named the Doctor. So I wanted to ask you, what is it you and the Doctor were doing with him?

Sara Martin: I don’t know where to start. I just found him in a back alley and took him to lunch. He asked me for help getting his memories back. He said he’d met some guy  
called the Loremaster, who’d given him advice on where to look. So we found the Doctor, and the Doctor took us to several places where there were people who could help him.

Steve Rogers: All right. But where did you go, exactly? And who did you see?

Sara Martin: Places in movies and TV shows, mostly. The Doctor can get to them. You’ve seen Tangled and Frozen, right?

Steve Rogers: Yeah.

Sara Martin: Have you seen Kung-fu Panda 2?

Steve Rogers: I wasn’t aware they’d made a sequel, actually.

Sara Martin: Well, go watch it. Have you seen Buzz Lightyear of Star Command? It’s a TV show from the early 2000s.

Steve Rogers: I didn’t know there was a show like that. Is it related to Toy Story?

Sara Martin: It’s about Buzz Lightyear’s actual adventures. And how about Rise of the Guardians? Have you seen that?

Steve Rogers: Yes. That one came out a couple of years ago, right?

Sara Martin: It did. And then the animated movie Anastasia. Have you seen that?

Steve Rogers: Yes. That’s interesting. So you and him went all those places, and met all those people?

Sara Martin: I’ll have to tell you the full story sometime. It’s basically they were all people with some kind of magic that could help him to remember. I’m not sure if it worked--he  
didn’t tell me anything. But it was quite an adventure. We were good friends during the trip. And we stayed on the T.A.R.D.I.S. in between. I’m a huge Dr. Who fan so that was already a dream come true.

Steve Rogers: I remember that about you. So this was about a year ago? You haven’t seen or heard from Bucky since?

Sara Martin: I haven’t, Steve. I’m sorry. Hillary did tell me that he stayed with their family. And she also told me about what happened in Albuquerque. Bucky had told me about  
Grace on our trip so I was really sad to hear about it. I’m glad they did get back together, though. I miss him, sometimes.

Steve Rogers: Well, thanks for telling me this. We’ll find him. I’ll have him call you up when I do.

Sara Martin: Thanks. 

 

Coulson was able to get permission to keep Hedwig in his hotel room that night. She perched on one of the chairs and slept. He kept newspapers around her living area.

Coulson was surprised, but Wanda had been right--he could understand Hedwig. It probably wasn’t anything like the connection he’d shared with Emily Bridger--it was a lot more basic than that. He could get a sense of the owl’s emotions or thoughts, whether or not she liked something or if she wanted something specific. He spoke aloud to her out of habit, but he knew that she could understand his thoughts and feelings as well.

Death had changed them both.

Hedwig wasn’t up to a long journey quite yet. So Coulson brought her on the private jet with Hillary and Mitch. She mostly slept on the flight. When they landed in D.C. and pulled out in Coulson’s car, Coulson set Hedwig in the front seat with a newspaper on the chair and made Mitch and Hillary sit in the back--it was only temporary, he assured them.

“Well, it’s not like Hedwig’s going to be with us a hundred percent of the time,” said Hillary. “I mean, I’m sure it’s different for wizards who live at home and have to take care of their owls. But for Hedwig, if she wasn’t in her cage at Privet Drive she was in the owlery at Hogwarts. She wasn’t really with Harry that much anyway. But this will be interesting.  
Are you planning on sending her out sometime?”

“Sometime,” said Coulson. “Probably just to deliver something to the Avengers. I might send Steve a private memo via owl post.”

Hillary nodded. “Steve was sure disappointed to hear about Tim Collins,” she said.

“Did you tell him?” asked Coulson.

“Yeah. A life sentence in prison is probably the best he can hope for.” She sighed.

“That’s too bad, that all your old S.H.I.E.L.D. friends keep turning up working for Hydra,” said Mitch. 

“Perils of the world we live in, I guess,” said Hillary.

Coulson dropped off Mitch and Hillary at their apartment building. He then went to his apartment, which was actually in the same building where Steve had lived where he worked  
for S.H.I.E.L.D..

It was where Sharon Carter had lived, too, he remembered ruefully.

And where the Winter Soldier had come for Fury.

Hedwig could have found her way around on her own, but she stayed perched on Coulson’s shoulder while he carried his bag and his suitcase up the elevator and down the hall to his apartment on the third floor. He unlocked the door and turned on the light.

“Welcome home, Hedwig,” he said.

Hedwig hooted and flew over to the couch. Coulson sat down next to her and groaned.

Today was the first day of the rest of his life with the owl, but he wasn’t ready to start it just yet. Hedwig needed a break, too.

Finally he got up. He took his bags to his bedroom and started unpacking his suitcase. The briefcase could wait until he got to work tomorrow.

First thing’s first, Coulson said to himself. He grabbed his wallet and his keys and went to the door.

Hedwig was still sitting on the couch, but she gave a whistle of protest when he opened the door.

“What?” Coulson said to her.

She wanted to come with him.

“You know Muggles don’t normally go out in public with pet owls.”

Hedwig chirped at him.

“Okay. Get up here.” She flew onto his shoulder.

He certainly attracted some stares when he went out in public with her. At the pet shop the store clerk there asked if he was selling her. Coulson got there some more mice for  
Hedwig to eat--all euthanized, thank heavens--as well as a water dish and nutritional supplements. He let a few children at Walmart pet her--Hedwig liked children, so he didn’t mind. At a discount furniture store he found an old hat stand--that would do for a perch in his office. 

Then he went to the secondhand bookstore. There was a treasure trove of books on falconry and bird biology. He got three titles: A Beginner’s General Guide to Falconry, The Falconer’s Guide to Owls, and Snowy Owls: Biology and Ecology. It was a start.

Before he left the book shop he had a thought. He texted Wanda.

Coulson: Hey, Wanda, it’s Coulson. You haven’t read the Harry Potter books yet, right?  
Wanda: No, I haven’t.  
Coulson: I’m at a secondhand bookstore right now. I could get you a copy of the first book for cheap, if you wanted.  
Wanda: sure.  
Coulson: And I’ll be sure to send it owl post ;)  
Wanda: :D

But as he combed the children’s and young adult literature section, he found several hardcover and paperback copies of books seven, four, two, and three. The first book was nowhere to be found. Coulson had a word with the clerk, but the new copies they had ordered were a week away in delivery.

Well, Coulson wasn’t the kind to be easily dismayed by setbacks. He would check another bookshop the next day. On the drive home, he stopped by S.H.I.E.L.D.’s headquarters. Everyone there was glad to see him stopping by, but they were put off, at the very least, by the sight of an owl perched on his shoulder and him carrying a hatstand. He set up the hatstand in a corner of his office. He would ask one of the office assistants to get him access to the recycled newspapers. 

Coulson took Hedwig to the park and let her fly around there. At dusk, the two of them finally went home. 

Hedwig wanted to go out and hunt. Coulson opened up his window and let her loose. He cooked his dinner and ate while Hedwig presumably went and got hers. She was only gone for about an hour and a half, and she had blood on her face and talons and a fat rat in her beak.

 

Coulson set up Hedwig on the back of a chair in his bedroom for the night. He stayed up late reading the General Guide to Falconry. The next day, he took her with him to work.

Few people at S.H.I.E.L.D. had been informed about Coulson’s surprise trip to London. The presence of the snowy owl on the Director’s shoulder was enough to remedy that. And before lunch break, there were rumors buzzing around the office about the owl and her true identity.

Agent Cameron Klein could scarcely believe them. But when his department director sent him up to Coulson’s office he had the chance to see for himself.

He knocked on the door and Coulson told him to enter. Coulson was sitting at his desk as usual. He didn’t appear to have changed since going to London, Klein thought as he passed on his supervisor’s request. But then halfway through his sentence Klein heard a chirping noise coming from the corner, and he jumped.

The snowy owl in the corner was magnificent. She was perched on an old hatstand with newspapers surrounding it on the floor, and Klein could see pellets and dead mice littering them already. She stared him down with her yellow eyes.

“Don’t mind him, Hedwig,” said Coulson.

“Hedwig?” said Klein.

Coulson looked at him as though he shouldn’t have been surprised. “Continue.”

“So anyway,” Klein said, flustered. He had difficulty getting his train of thought back on line. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the owl preening herself and could hear her  
feathers rustling as she did so. “Anyhow,” he concluded.

Coulson gave his response to Klein’s request. 

“That’s nice, I’ll be sure to tell Agent Paul that,” said Klein, nodding.

“Yes, you do that. And tell him I’ll write him an email with more detailed instructions,” said Coulson. He looked over at the owl. She sat up straight.

“Do you wanna say hi to Hedwig?”

“Hi,” said Klein, waving lamely.

“No, I mean you can go over and pet her.”

“Oh--is that safe?”

“Just pet her gently. Don’t take her off her perch.”

“Okay.” Klein walked over to the perch. The owl watched him the entire time, sinking back her head as he approached. “She doesn’t look too friendly right now.”

“Well, you have to show her you’re not scared of her,” said Coulson. Klein could hear Coulson’s fingers running across the keyboard.

Klein slowly raised a hand to the owl’s back and began to stroke her soft feathers.

“Wow--you don’t get to pet birds that often, so you forget how soft they are.” He gave a little nervous laugh.

“Mm-hm,” said Coulson, nodding. “Oh, and if she nibbles your finger, that means she likes you.”

“And you named her Hedwig?”

“I didn’t name her,” said Coulson. “Someone else did.”

“Who?”

“Who do you think?”

Klein gave a laugh of disbelief. “Come on. Do you expect me to believe this is actually Hedwig?”

“Well, I came back from the dead, didn’t I?”

“Y-y-yes, sir,” said Klein. He was holding his fingers a little bit in front of Hedwig’s face. She leaned forward and clamped her beak around his index finger and bit it lightly.  
“Heh. Heh. Nice meeting you. Well, I guess I’ll head back down. Thanks again, sir.” Klein gave Coulson a casual salute and left the room.

Partway through composing his email to Agent Paul, Coulson pulled up something he needed to read. While he read, Hedwig flew over to his chair and sat on the arm. He stroked her idly as his mind processed the report and he picked out what to mention in the email.

The next person to visit the office was Agent Shore from the U.S. Government Liaison. Shore was in a foul temper and practically slammed open the door.

“Sir, I just received a call from the Department of Homeland Security. They say they have a report about possible Avengers activity in Mexico. Do you know anything about that?”  
“I can neither confirm nor deny that the Avengers were involved,” said Coulson as he stroked Hedwig placidly. Agent Shore saw the owl but was not phased. “Strictly speaking, it was not all of the Avengers but just the Black Widow. And S.H.I.E.L.D. partly sponsored the event. We were staking out a possible Hydra base in Sonora.”

“Sir, Homeland Security is no longer taking Hydra as an excuse for our activities. They want a statement saying that S.H.I.E.L.D. does not condone the actions of the Avengers of  
illegally crossing the border to commit acts of violence within distance of a civilian population center.”

“It was my understanding that it was a village of about a hundred people--less than that. And they’re fifty miles away in the next valley. They’re just looking for excuses.”  
Coulson stared at her unblinkingly and so did Hedwig.

“Not when the Mexican Embassy is demanding a response from Secretary Reynolds. What do you want me to do?”

Coulson gave a very expletive-laced remark to pass to Secretary Reynolds.

“Sir?”

“You tell Homeland Security to quit whining and call up the Avengers. They’ll have a full report if they want proof that no civilians were hurt in the stakeout. They always make it a point to minimize civilian casualties. And I’m going to call Reynolds and give him a piece of my mind.”

“Yes sir.” Shore closed the door icily.

Coulson looked at Hedwig. “I’m sorry about the swearing. You may want to leave for a little while. Tell you what, you can go to the park and meet me there. After I end this  
phone call I’m going out for lunch.”

Hedwig leaned up to bite Coulson’s earlobe. Coulson picked her up and walked her over to the window. He threw the window open, getting a blast of cold air to the face, and she swooped outside.

After an intense thirty-minute phone call with Secretary Reynolds at Homeland Security, Coulson left the office. He picked up a sandwich at Subway and went to the park to eat it. Hedwig was waiting for him in one of the trees. She flew down and sat on the park bench with him while he ate. Coulson then went for a walk. Hedwig flew around him and soared over the open lawn while he watched. There was a lot on his mind: getting more falconry equipment and owl food for Hedwig, Secretary Reynolds being opposed to the Avengers working in Mexico, the Avengers losing credibility with the government…

Hedwig flew back over to him, and he remembered that he had a book to go shopping for after work. And it would be part of Hedwig’s first delivery as a free owl.

Back at the office, he continued working on his email for Agent Paul. Hedwig stayed in her corner and took a nap.

Coulson couldn’t help smiling. What might cross his way next?

When Coulson left work that night, he had Hedwig on his shoulder again. He went to another discount bookstore and was able to find a copy of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in paperback. He stopped at the dollar store for some tissue paper to wrap it in. At home he had some old twine to tie it up with. It was a matter of a quick search in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s records to find Wanda’s new address. 

The next day at dawn he sent Hedwig out with the package. She carried it in her talons by the twine binding. Coulson looked out through his window and watched Hedwig fly into the distance as he sipped his coffee.

Coulson was working on one of the reports from London when there came a knock at his door. He said to enter. It was Hillary.

“No Hedwig?” she said, looking around.

“I got Wanda a copy of the first Harry Potter book. I thought it’d be neat to send it to her by owl post.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.” Hillary dropped the folder she was carrying on Coulson’s desk.

“What’s that?”

“This is a fax we just got from London for the damages in Wanda’s fight with those Hydra thugs.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll look it over.”

Hillary glanced into the corner. “I’ll bet it’s quieter in here without her.”

“I dunno. It’s only been a day or two,” said Coulson. “And she doesn’t make that much noise.”

“Yeah, probably not.” She looked at her boss. “So you said, back at the Avengers’ headquarters, that S.H.I.E.L.D. gave away your cat when you died. Whatever happened to it?”

Coulson sighed. “Well, come to find out they gave it to my girlfriend in Portland. And my girlfriend didn’t want it. So she gave the cat to an animal shelter. Fortunately the cat found a good family. I actually wrote a letter to them, and they replied. She’s perfectly--well, purrrrfectly happy, one could say.”

Hillary laughed. “Did your cat have a name?” 

“Misty.”

“Misty. That’s a pretty name. So when are you going to get in touch with that cellist we’ve been hearing about?”

Coulson was silent for a moment.

“You gonna put it off forever?”

“No.”

“Well, when will you do it? Are you going to let another Christmas pass without letting your girlfriend know you’re alive?”

“I was thinking I’d do it sooner than that, actually.”

“Really?” Hillary looked at him curiously. “When?”

“Soon,” said Coulson.

“All right,” said Hillary. “Have it your way. Anyway, I’ll get back to work now.”

Coulson picked up the folder that Hillary had deposited. “You do that. I’ll look over that report. Thanks Hillary.”

“Not a problem,” Hillary said, and she turned and left.


	11. Errands of the Dead

The park in the afterworld stayed green through all the seasons, but opposite from the bench where they sat they could see the brown grass and bare trees of the city park in Corinth, New York.

“So that’s it, then,” said Fred. “They found Harry’s owl, and Coulson gave her a home. Coulson seems like a nice bloke.”

Pietro nodded. “He is. He is kind to my sister, at least.”

“Are you mad at him? For destroying the T96?”

“No,” Pietro shrugged. “Alive, dead, it doesn’t make much difference to me now. Leastaways, I won’t have to be dragged back with that poison Hydra created.”

“Well, that’s saying something considering the poisons they gave you for your superpowers,” said Fred.

Pietro snerked and gave Fred a pat on the back. They fell silent again. 

“But if you did have a chance to go back, would you take it?” Fred asked him quietly.

Pietro was a long moment in answering. “I think I would. I would like to be with my sister again. I know she misses me.”

“Yes, I know the feeling, mate,” said Fred. “But it seems like in your world people don’t have any choice about whether they live or die.”

“That’s right,” said Pietro. He would have to accept the possibility that his death was not permanent. “But just for the record, if I do leave, it was nice knowing you.”

Fred smiled at him. “I didn’t say it was the end. Come on, let’s go for a walk. This seems like a nice neighborhood.”

Fred and Pietro crossed the walking path into Corinth Park. The dead leaves had all been raked up and hauled away. But the sun was shining, so there was some color--just mostly brown and gray and the dead yellow of the grass. They did not meet any of the living on the paths.

“Kind of a grim place, isn’t it?” said Fred.

“It is very nice in the summer and the early fall,” said Pietro. “But you’re right, it is not very pleasant right now.”

“You know what this needs? About six inches of snow. Everywhere.”

“Yes, that would be perfect.”

“And I imagine it’ll snow here soon,” said Fred. Fred suddenly froze. “Do you get the feelin’ you’re being watched, mate?”

“What? I thought the living couldn’t see us,” said Pietro, looking around.

“Over there,” said Fred, pointing. Pietro turned and saw the owl perched on a branch of a nearby tree. Either she was looking in their general direction or she could see them.  
They walked closer to her. The closer Pietro and Fred walked, the surer he was that Hedwig could see them.

Fred looked down. “There’s something lying on the ground,” he observed. He and Pietro ran to the foot of the tree where Hedwig was perched. She hooted--she was hooting at  
them and she jumped up and hopped on the tree branch as they knelt down beside the opened parcel.

“What happened?” Pietro asked. 

“It must’ve been poorly wrapped,” said Fred. He reached his fingers closer to the object that had been unwrapped--it was a book. He and Pietro both thoroughly expected his  
fingers to go straight through the paper. But then Fred’s finger made contact. There was even a noise.

“What was that?” said Fred.

“There is no wind blowing, is there?” said Pietro, looking around. All was still.

Dumbfounded, Fred began to run his fingers through the pages. It behaved just the way a book should--or rather his hands could pick up and feel the book the way they would  
have for a living person.

“Let me try it,” said Pietro, taking the book from Fred. This was the first time he had been able to handle a solid object since dying--and according to what Fred had told him, this  
was not at all normal. “How is this possible?”

“I think it’s because she sees us,” said Fred. He bent down to pick up the packaging that the book had come in. “Hang on a moment, there’s an address. ‘Miss Wanda  
Maximoff…’ That’s your sister, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is,” said Pietro, his excitement growing.

“The package must be for her.”

“We could take it to her.”

“No, I don’t think we could. Who knows how long this can keep going.” Fred looked over his shoulder, checking for people. There was still no one in sight. Then he spotted  
something on the ground. “Ah-ha!” He bent over and picked it up. It was a pen. “It’s our lucky day, Pietro. There’s usually some blank facing pages in the front of the book. You could write a message to her.” 

It was like time had stopped. Pietro had a chance to communicate with his sister in a way she could understand. He looked up at Hedwig. She hooted at them in encouragement.

What on earth was he going to say?

“Does the pen even work?”

“Dunno, let me try it.” Fred removed the lid and scribbled a mark onto the page. “Hm, maybe I should test it.”

“Someone could have dropped it,” said Pietro, looking behind them. “They may realize it and come back.”

Fred sniffed. “Muggles are always losing stuff without noticing. But just in case, let’s not waste any time.” 

 

Wanda was alone in her apartment. She was sitting on her bed with the pillows propped up. She was sending a Facebook message to an old friend in Sokovia through her phone. When she finished, she sighed and looked up at the window. She had let it open for the breeze--it was cold out but not terribly so. 

How long did it take for an owl to fly from Washington, D.C. to upstate New York? She wanted to text Coulson to see if he’d sent her package yet.

She got a reply to her Facebook message and checked it. As she had finished typing another response, she heard a chirp-like hooting at the window.

“Hedwig,” she said, looking up. The window was open. The owl fluttered down to Wanda and dropped something onto the floor. Hedwig, however, perched on Wanda’s knee  
before she could climb off the bed to get it. Hedwig had just had a long flight and wanted to rest. 

Wanda smiled as she stroked the owl’s feathers. “How is Coulson?” According to Hedwig, Coulson was doing just fine.

“That is nice to know. We are all right here,” said Wanda. “Well, except Steve is just as sad as ever about his missing friend. And he and Sam are angry with the government--they’re giving us a hard time about Natasha’s trip to Mexico. Why should they? Rhodey doesn’t want to send a strike team to Mexico or even do another recon. Steve’s trying to talk him into helping out--he has connections. He’ll be persuaded, eventually. But it’ll be slow. Natasha--she’s been working overtime at the base the last few days. I’m not sure what’s gotten into her but I think Steve wants her help. Vision is the same as always. And I’m...I’m all right, I suppose. I wish there was more I could do to help my friends. I’m not needed as much. I guess I’m just young and a lot more inexperienced.”

Hedwig looked down at her. It will all work out, the owl seemed to tell her.

Wanda patted her head feathers. Hedwig chirped one last time and then launched herself through the window.

Wanda got up and stretched. Then she got the parcel from the floor. It was wrapped in tissue paper and string and it had her name and address on it. She unwrapped it. It was a copy of the first Harry Potter book. It had his name, and the boy on the cover had a lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. 

She supposed she had nothing better to do than to start reading it. She began to thumb through the opening pages--and then stopped.

One of the front pages that should have been blank had handwriting on it. 

Her heart almost stopped. She could have sworn she recognized one of the two scripts...the signature...but how?

She read the shorter note at the top of the page first.

Hi, Wanda!  
Pietro is taking good care of me! He’s told me everything about you. I’m glad you got to meet my brother, too.  
Hope this package doesn’t fall apart again before the owl reaches your place.  
Fred

Fred who? Not Fred Weasley, George Weasley’s deceased twin brother?

But she didn’t give herself time to ponder that question. She sat down on the bed and started to read the second note.

Dear Wanda,

I miss you so much. I know you’ve been missing me, too. There is so much I would like to tell you about how things are on the other side. And I’m sure if you could talk to me, you would tell me much about your new life.

Fred Weasley has been a very dear friend to me. He has also been separated from a twin. He’s been helping me to get adjusted. 

Wanda, I know this might sound strange to you, but death isn’t the end of life. My body may have stopped working, but I am still alive. I still exist. And I know that our world has a spotty track record as far as people staying dead, so there’s a reasonable chance I might come back. So don’t lose hope. 

In the meantime, just remember: I am always with you. I hope you were listening when you spoke with George Weasley in the pub. I know you can’t see me, but all you have to do is believe that I am there, and then I can let you know. Don’t expect anything dramatic. But keep an open mind and heart. You have been building a new life for yourself, and you have done wonderfully. I am proud of you. Just don’t give up on yourself when it’s hard. Keep going! You have done great things with the Avengers. You will continue to make the world a better place, I truly believe it. And remember, you don’t have to be alone, because you are not alone.

Our mother and father are proud of you as well, and send their love.

This book is the first in a series about the life of Harry Potter. You met him in London, so I hope you will come to appreciate his story and to learn from it. Fred and his brother George are also in it, so you’ll get to learn their story as well. Enjoy!

Your brother,

Pietro

Wanda could hardly read for the tears coming out of her eyes. When she’d read the letter at least three times, she closed the cover and clutched the book to her heart. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought that a part of Pietro still lived on--or that he would somehow be able to reach out to her.

And at last, Wanda believed. And she knew that he was with her.

Finally.

Finally.

 

Coulson got a text from Wanda saying she’d received the package. Two days later, Hedwig was back in D.C. Coulson gave her a day to rest. He had a much bigger errand for her.

The second day after Hedwig’s return was a Sunday. The S.H.I.E.L.D. office was closed. Coulson took Hedwig for a walk--they had made it a daily routine, to go to the park so she could stretch her wings. But all the while, Coulson was drafting an important letter in his mind.

Back at his apartment, he wrote out several drafts of the letter, crumpling the failed attempts in frustration and throwing them into a wastepaper basket. One of the paper balls nearly hit Hedwig and she hooted at him angrily.

“I know, I know!” he protested. “I just have to get this right.”

At dusk, Coulson finally had a draft he was satisfied with.

Elaine,

I know that S.H.I.E.L.D. told you I was dead. As it turns out, I did die. However, I was treated with an experimental drug against my consent, that brought me back to life after two weeks in the morgue. For about a year and a half only a few people were allowed to know the truth about my return. Finally I have been able to reveal myself and return to a somewhat normal life. And yet I have hesitated to contact you because I have been unable to access your address or phone number. My duties as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. have occupied most of my time. I have also been unsure how to explain my absence to you and, ashamed as I am to admit so, I have been afraid that you would not understand when I did explain myself. 

For the record, I do not blame you for giving Misty away. I have contacted her current owners and she seems happy. I have acquired a new pet that might not get along as well with cats--well, you’ll see what I mean. Apparently, I’m not the only victim of this experimental drug. 

I have faith that the woman I once loved would still be understanding. I once loved you because you were forgiving and understanding of my flaws. I had hoped once that I would be able to share a normal life with you. I do not know how much of that is possible under my current circumstances. If you have moved on and given your heart to someone else, you had every right to do so. I just wanted to get a hold of you and let you know that I am alive and well. At the very least, please send me a reply via Hedwig (yes, this is THE Hedwig) and let me know how you are doing. If you are not attached to anyone else and you would like to see me again, then please tell me. I should have some free time coming up during the holidays. 

If you still love me at all, and you could give me that love, then my heart is yours.

Phil.

He read through his final draft of the letter at least three times. There had to be something wrong with it. There just had to be. But it was as good as it could get. He folded it up and slid it securely inside of an envelope. On the envelope he wrote the name Elaine Merrigan. 

Hedwig was watching him the entire time. When he had prepared the envelope she sat up at attention.

“Hedwig, this is for Elaine Merrigan,” he said. “She lives in Portland, Oregon. It’s clear on the other side of the country, so I don’t blame you if you take a few days getting back and forth.”

Hedwig hooted. She was willing to go under any circumstances. She held out her right leg.

Coulson folded up the letter and tied it around her leg with a bit of string.

“Is that too tight?”

It was perfectly comfortable.

“Very well.”

Coulson picked up Hedwig and took her to the window. It was dark outside now. The city lights blared in his face. But he looked up over the skyline to the darkness beyond. Somewhere in it was the love of his life. And now he had a surefire way of getting hold of her. 

“Okay,” he said, looking at Hedwig. “Have a safe trip.”

Hedwig leaned up to Coulson’s cheek to brush it with her beak--was that a kiss? He held out his arm. The owl sprang off of it and flew away. She rose into the night sky with her wings spread wide and finally disappeared.

Dedicated fondly to Snargaluff


End file.
